


Dead End, Man, Game Over!

by sassyruu



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, But Bunny has. Begun, But we will be popping bottles when it does, Character Death, F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kenny McCormick/Butters Stotch - Freeform, Kenny Stan and Kyle are a thing for a while, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, M/M, Multi, References to Depression, Slow Burn, Tags to be added as needed, This creek ship will be slow to disembark, people gonna die, rating may increase
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-02-09 02:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12878151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassyruu/pseuds/sassyruu
Summary: When it all began, Tweek had been lucky(?) enough to find refuge in the storage room of his parents’ coffee shop. Brick walls, no windows, and a steel door, filled to the brim with food and water. What he hadn’t been prepared for, was when he ran out.  Luckily for him, he isn’t the only survivor in the area.When Craig saved Tweek, he hadn’t been looking for another mouth to feed, but he couldn’t just watch the guy die. Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t anticipated falling for the little weirdo.You know what they say: Love blooms amongst chaos.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright first thing to note, this is my first South Park fanfic, so please give me tips if something seems off about the characters. 
> 
> Second, the main cast is all around 20-21 years of age, Ike being around 15-16. Most of them also didn’t know each other before the outbreak, but their stories will be told.
> 
> Thirdly, as stated in the warnings and tags, PEOPLE WILL DIE. I have 4 deaths planned to write, and a few others to be referenced to.
> 
> As of now, I have up to chapter 3 outlined, so I’m hoping to have things line up pretty well. Please leave me comments and kudos, I’d like to know what you guys think.

When the epidemic began, no one in South Park, Colorado took it seriously. The small town had seen it’s share of weird shit over the years, and news of some kind of epidemic that attacked your brain and turned you into something similar to a zombie wasn’t anything odd. Of course, the news never said the z word. No, no one ever uttered the word “zombie” in the reports; zombie implied the person was already dead and reanimated. No, this was something else entirely, something more terrifying, if the reports were to be believed.  
   
Supposedly, this super bug, virus, parasite—whatever it was—would somehow get into your bloodstream, and follow the flow up to your brain. Slowly, it would destroy the tissue. Whomever was unfortunate enough to catch it had a slow, agonizing death; first came the numbness, making it difficult to judge your physical condition. It spread from your extremities to your core, until you could feel nothing. With it came the struggle to control your own body temperature, bringing on fever and fatigue. High temperatures accompanied by the parasite eating away to the core of the brain caused hallucinations, and muscle spasms. Eventually, the victim would lose all sense of self, becoming a shell of their former self, until the virus killed them. Then it seemed to reanimate their bodies, nothing driving it but the need to feed.  
   
The most terrifying thing was, there was no set time for how long it set in. Some went through the excruciating process over the course of several months, some only lasted a few days. The only thing the reports seemed to agree on was the process itself.  
   
But South Park was a very small mountain town. All the reports had come from major cities, where people were crammed into small spaces, where it was easy to pass things along to the next person. Surely, something like this would never reach South Park. At least, that’s what many people said, including the Tweaks. Mr. and Mrs. Tweak, owners of the local coffee shop Tweak Bros., had told their paranoid an delusional son repeatedly that there was nothing for him to worry about. But Tweek was a worrier, and no matter how many times he got yelled at to stop watching the news and to stop panicking, he couldn’t help it. And with the news stories almost always being about the epidemic, it was hard to ignore; the stories, the videos, it was enough to scare anyone in their _right_ mind, let alone someone with as extreme paranoia as Tweek.  
   
So when the first recorded outbreak hit South Park, it took every fiber of Tweek’s being not to scream that he told them so. But it was just one case, one isolated case, they tried to tell him. There was still nothing to worry about.  
   
Except for the fact that the case had been in the only hospital in South Park, Hell’s Pass. And it had quickly spread through the hospital, infecting other patients and the staff before they knew what was happening. And from there the staff had infected their families, who mingled with others around town and spread it further and further. It wasn’t long before Mr. and Mrs. Tweak could not deny their son’s “paranoid delusions” any longer, especially when they saw a neighbor and frequent customer attack another person right outside the shop.  
   
_No one was safe anymore._  
   
In the pandemonium, they told Tweek to barricade himself in the back storeroom. It was built with brick, and there were no windows. The door to the room was reinforced with steel, and there was food and water, so he would be safe there. “Think of it as a panic room,” they had told him. They had promised to join him, telling him “No matter what you hear, do not open this door.”  
   
It was chaos. The screams he heard; sometimes he couldn’t tell if it was outside or if he was the one screaming. Screams of terror, desperation, pain, all echoed in Tweek’s head. Then came the scratching. It was just loud enough to be heard at first, but quickly grew the more Tweek screamed and panicked. Growls and snarls joined the scratching, sending Tweek to the furthest corner of the room. He tucked his head between his knees, screaming and crying for it to stop until his throat was raw and the tears wouldn’t come anymore. It was only some time after he went silent that the sounds stopped.  
   
_The silence itself was deafening._  
   
Even so, he kept his hands over his mouth as he strained his ears for any noise, choking down a sob that shook his entire being. The fear swallowed him in its gaping jaws, sending him into a complete meltdown that would last the course of the night. The only sound in that store room was his own shuddered breathing.

* * *

Days turned into weeks, and somehow, Tweek managed to survive in the silence of the storeroom. There had been cases of water in there; he had limited himself to one or two a day. What non perishable food there was he saved, eating the perishables first. But slowly, surely, his rations were depleted. Tweek’s stomach grumbled loudly in the silence. He hadn’t eaten in two days, and he was nursing the last few ounces of water. He licked his lips, eyes flicking around the room. He had already looked through everything, there was nothing left. But what was he supposed to do now? His parents had told him to not open the door. Of course, his parents had also said they would join him. According to the tally marks he had made on one of the packaging crates, it had been three weeks since then, and he hadn’t heard a damn thing from them.  
   
No rations left him with two choices: he could stay in the storeroom and slowly starve to death, or he could leave and try to find something to eat, or someone to help him. While leaving the room to face those things didn’t sound like the best idea Tweek had ever had, he didn’t fancy the idea of the slow death that was starvation. He had read somewhere that people could survive about three weeks without food, but only about a week without water. Considering he had only enough water left to wet his lips, staying in the safety of the store room didn’t seem like the best option.  
   
It took the blond several minutes to work himself up to leaving, and several more to even get himself to open the door. It was only a crack at first; not enough to draw attention, but enough to see. The shop was dark, and seemed to be empty. Tables and chairs had been flipped onto their sides. Glass from the windows and several coffee cups littered the wooden floor. He moved to push the door open a bit further, pausing when he felt weight pressing back. Blinking, Tweek looked down, peeking around the edge of the door in confusion. He inhaled sharply, slamming both hands over his mouth before he could let out the scream that bubbled in his throat. What remained of two of the townsfolk leaned on the door, their combined dead weight trying to push the door back closed on Tweek. For a moment, he almost ducked back in to the store room. But he pushed back on the door with his shoulder, almost gagging at the sickening crack of bones and squelch of blood and intestines being smeared across the floor.  
   
He stumbled out of the room quickly, turning to look at the sight only to trip over another body, falling flat on his back and knocking the wind out of himself. The panic started to set in, breaths coming in harsh gasps as his muscles twitched and small involuntary sounds left him. He scrambled back clumsily, hands slipping on something—he didn’t want to know what it was, and tried hard not to think about it. His back hit the wall, eyes wide as they darted around what remained of the coffee shop he had grown up in, taking in the bloody carnage that painted the walls and floors. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm himself enough to focus. _6 chairs, 5 lights, 4 windows, 3 tables, 2 coffee makers, 1 register._  
   
Counting things like that usually helped Tweek ground himself, and while this time was no exception, it had taken him longer than normal. Once his breathing seemed to ease a little, he forced his eyes open, looking anywhere but the gore ridden floor. Using the wall for support, he worked himself up to his feet again. Staying here wasn’t going to help, he knew that much. He took a shaky breath, willing himself to move. Slowly, he shuffled his way out of the shop, wringing his hands together and chewing on his lip.  
   
It was strange to see South Park so quiet. There had always been something going on; rednecks being drunk and disorderly, kids yelling and laughing, or even something off the wall like aliens. But as Tweek stepped out into the street, he was met with the most eerie silence of his life. Nothing. There was nothing but the wind. Well, and the occasional groan and sound of shuffling in the farthest reaches of Tweek’s hearing. He shuddered, making his lip bleed as he wracked his brain; he had grown up in South Park, so why now was he unable to recall where anything was? It wasn’t like South Park was very big.  
   
“Okay, okay,” he whispered to himself, closing his eyes again as he tried to visualize the street he was on. “The shop is here. If I go….if I go right, there’s…Photo Dojo, The piano shop…Copy Shack. N-nothing to help there. So, left there’s….Les Bos, Unplanned Parenthood, Post office and the cross street. On the cross street if I go right we have mostly houses and the Whole Foods. Left is houses and the School.” He opened his eyes again and looked to his left. “So…go this way to the main cross street, and then right. The Whole Foods has to have something.” If it hadn’t been picked clean already, maybe he could find something to tide him over. “There’s…there’s also a 7-11 this way…maybe I can find something there too….” He took a deep breath steeling his nerves with what little determination he had.  
   
The walk up the Main Street took so much longer than Tweek remembered, straining his ears to listen for anything that could possibly come out of the shadows. Luckily, the streets seemed to be empty, of the living or undead. When he did come across a few of the shambling remains of his neighbors, he was easily able to avoid them. After what felt like an eternity, he made it to the 7-11; he could start there. The windows had been broken, and many of the small shelves had been tipped over. The contents were all over the floor, or what remained of the stock, anyway. He stepped over the glass, listening to it crunch under his shoes; it sounded so much louder than he knew it was. It looked like most of the place had been cleared out, but Tweek was sure he could find something. He moved to pull one of the shelves upright, grunting as he did so. There were a couple of boxes of what looked like crackers or cookies underneath, the packaging crushed. Maybe there were still viable pieces…? He looked around quickly, going to grab a bag from behind the counter before returning to grab what he thought was still good. Of course, if he was starving it wouldn’t matter.  
   
After a lot of rummaging and moving of shelves, he managed to get a couple full bags. A couple boxes of crackers, a few somehow pristine bags of chips, even a few cans of little Vienna sausages. He grabbed a few bottles of water as well, before deciding it was perfectly acceptable to go and check in the back for more stock. Maybe no one had raided the back? He set his two bags on the counter, before running to the back. It looked like most of it had been raided, but Tweek was able to find a few forgotten cans of food and bottles of sports drinks laying around.  
   
In the process of scrambling to get the items, however, Tweek knocked an empty shelving unit with his hip, knocking it over, there was a loud clang as it hit another unit, which caused a loud chain reaction of metal shelves hitting the concrete floor. The sound echoed after it all came to a stop, and Tweek held his breath. After a beat of silence, he thought he may be safe, but then came the garbled gurgling of the creatures that lurked in the town. He swore under his breath; how could he have been so careless?! He just rang a large dinner bell for those things, and he was the main course. His heart hammered frantically against his ribs. He only had one way out, and even if there was another way, he couldn’t just leave his food out there. “Oh Jesus Christ,” he whispered to himself, smacking his forehead with the butt of his palm a few times. “Great job Tweek, you went and screwed yourself over. Time to be monster chow, just like every nightmare from when you were a kid.”  
   
He peeked out of the back; sure enough a swarm of about six had shuffled their way in, having followed the cacophony of noise. His eyes flicked from the monsters, to his bags, to the exit, over and over again as he weakly tried to come up with some sort of plan. He didn’t have a weapon, so fighting was out of the question. But could he run fast enough to grab the bag and out, while weaving between them? He wasn’t sure, but it was his only chance. “Oh Jesus Christ,” he whispered, fidgeting as he tried to hype himself up. “If I make it through this I promise to never say your name in vain again. Okay, maybe not, but just get me through this please…!” He took a breath and pushed the door open quickly, darting for the front counter.  
   
_Only to slip on a smooshed banana on the floor and land square on his back with a dull thud._  
   
The fall knocked the air out of Tweek, making him cough and his vision spot for a moment as his head hit the tile floor. He blinked rapidly, trying to banish the stars from his eyes, willing his body to move. In the far corners of his vision he could see them coming toward him, decaying flesh hanging off their arms as they reached for him. He tried to scramble to his feet, head pounding as he stood quickly. He let out a shriek as one swiped at him, jumping back as it missed by inches. He found himself stuck behind the counter, the only barrier between him and the creatures, who were too stupid to just go around. He pressed his back against the rows of cigarettes behind the counter, staying just outside of reach. If they figured out how to climb over the counter, or to go around, he was screwed. Maybe they would get bored and go away?  
   
_Highly unlikely._  
   
Tweek shut his eyes, jaw clenched as he felt one of the fingers catch his shirt for a moment. This was it; he had lived a pretty good life, he supposed, it was only fitting that he get fucked over. He held his breath, waiting for the sweet embrace of death.  
   
Only to hear a loud crack, a thud, and feel something splatter across his face. He screamed, eyes shooting open, only to watch a steel bat come swinging across his vision and knocking the undead to the ground. The young man behind the bat wasted no time, bringing the bat in a downward arc to smash one of the skulls in, a sticky and wet sound filling Tweeks ears. His savior moved from one to another, swinging his bat with practiced ease, blue eyes locked on each one as he flipped it off before beating it. As he knocked the last one down, he stomped on it’s head, covering his boot in the gelatinous mass that had once been a brain.  
   
The stranger watched with disinterest as Tweek turned to puke at the sight, cleaning off his bat with the dead’s clothes and kicking innards off his boot. He waited until Tweek stood up again to speak, voice slightly nasally. “You have to be some kind of dumbass to be out here without a weapon.”  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek and Craig go to Walgreens, Clyde’s a jerk, and We meet Stan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6 pages! Got some dialogue going now, and we’ve got human interactions! Whoo! 
> 
> Characterizations are hard. Gonna elaborate more on relationships and backstories next chapter. Give me pointers on these guys if I fucked them up too bad.
> 
> I now have up to chapter 5 outlined. I’ve had a lot of fun working on this between work and studying for finals. It’s actually calmed me down a lot, strangely.
> 
> This is honestly the most I’ve written in months guys.

There was a long silence between the two, Tweek fidgeting awkwardly while the stranger stared him down. It felt like the guy was staring straight into his soul, and it left Tweek feeling oddly exposed. “U-uhm…” Tweek began, voice cracking as he tried to find something to break the silence. “…Thank you….?” _Smooth_.  
   
The blue-eyed wonder snorted, rolling his eyes and knocking the bat onto his shoulders. “I didn’t do it for you,” he scoffed. “I didn’t want your death on my conscience.”  
   
“Oh…”  
   
Another long silence, before the stranger sighed heavily, swinging the bat idly back off his shoulders. “Craig.”  
   
Tweek blinked rapidly. “I…what?”  
   
“My name.” The stranger, Craig, looked less than amused. “You really are a dumbass.”  
   
“No I’m not!” Tweek squeaked. “I was just…surprised, I guess?” Surprised about what? That Craig had saved a perfect stranger? _Yes_. That he stuck around? _Definitely_. That he actually gave Tweek his name? **_Absolutely_**. “I-I didn’t think you would stay this long.”  
   
Another bored, deadpan look. “….Uh-huh. And…you are?”  
   
The blond was confused for a moment, before it clicked. “Oh! My name! It’s—ah—it’s Tweek.”  
   
“…” Craig slowly raised a brow, adjusting his hat a tad. “…That’s got to be the weirdest fucking name I’ve ever heard,” he mumbled, more to himself than Tweek. Not that Tweek was offended; he had been told worse things growing up. Craig let out a sigh, before reaching out and snatching the bag of food Tweek had oh-so-carefully gathered off the counter.  
   
Tweek let out a squeak, feebly trying to grab the bag. “Ah! Wait! That’s mine!”  
   
The other young man’s eyes watched him for a moment. “…And what are you going to do if I don’t give it back?” He asked cooly. When Tweek wouldn’t, or rather couldn’t, give him an answer, he snorted. “Exactly. Besides…” He turned his back to the blond as he headed to the door. “I was under the assumption that you would be joining me. Unless you planned on being alone and weaponless forever, Tweeky.”  
   
The name made Tweek twitch a little, though he couldn’t say he was particularly bothered by it. The way Craig had said it wasn’t really condescending, not like all the kids who bullied him growing up. He shuffled in place for a moment, before letting out a whine and hurriedly following Craig outside. “Wait for me…!”  
   
Craig didn’t stop, but he did slow a tad; he had very long legs, making his stride larger than Tweek’s. A small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as Tweek caught up, but it quickly faded as he focused again. They couldn’t afford to let their guard down. “You were lucky it was only six of them,” he whispered to Tweek, before tugging him behind an abandoned pickup truck, just as a few of the walking dead shambled nearby them. The sight of them made Tweek squeak; Craig was quick to pull Tweek against his chest and cover his companion’s mouth. “Don’t…make…a sound…” Craig’s voice would have been inaudible, had his mouth not been right next to Tweek’s ear. The creatures shuffled closer to the truck, making Tweek close his eyes as he tried not to alert them to his presence even more. Craig was holding his breath; his face was stone cold, but his heart was pounding frantically against Tweek’s back.  
   
It felt like an eternity had passed before the shambling corpses wandered off. Both Craig and Tweek let out the breaths they had been holding, the larger of the two letting Tweek go slowly once he was sure Tweek wouldn’t alert them again. “That was so close,” the blond whispered frantically. “This is way too much pressure.”  
   
“Welcome to the World of the Damned,” Craig grumbled, slowly getting to his feet again, “Where no one gives a fuck and you’re as good as dead.” Somehow, Tweek found that a little funny, but kept the humor in it to himself. “I’ve got one more stop to make, then we need to head to the rendezvous point.”  
   
“Rendezvous…?” Tweek asked, following Craig as he headed up the street again.  
   
He glanced over his shoulder. “…what, you think I was dumb enough to come here alone?” He looked ahead again. “…We have a camp of sorts. There’s seven of us, eight counting you. Two of the other’s came to town with me, then we split up to cover more ground. I was on my way to my stop when I heard you in trouble.” Ah, that made sense. Tweek had wondered how Craig had known he was there. The two fell into silence; this time, the silence wasn’t so bad. Having another living person there made it much more bearable.  
   
They headed to the Walgreens. Much like the rest of the shops in South Park, the windows were demolished, and the doors were barely functioning. These in particular had been derailed from their track, keeping them slightly ajar but unable to move. Craig, with his lanky frame, was able to slip between the doors with relative ease. He had to pull Tweek through a bit, but they managed. Once they were both inside, Craig pulled a list from his pocket. Tweek blinked and tried to glance at it. “So…what are we looking for?”  
   
“Anything. First, find us a bag big enough. A tote, a backpack, something. Gather more food, water, anything you think will be useful. Then meet me in the pharmacy.” And with that, Craig left him, taking large and quick strides.  
   
Tweek stood awkwardly for a moment, before shuffling off to do as he was told. It took him a minute to find something, but he eventually found what looked like a hiking backpack. He took what food he could find and a few bottles of water, before heading toward the pharmacy. As if a second thought, he made a detour and grabbed some lighters, a couple bundles of newspaper, and a few bandanas he had found. Pleased with himself, he made his way to the pharmacy. Looking for Craig, he grabbed bandages and gauze, disinfectants, even a few face masks and splints. That was when he saw the door to the back of the pharmacy open. He crept over and peeked in, sighing in relief to see it was only Craig there.  
   
The taller man was looking through various bottles, glancing occasionally at his list with a furrowed brow. His eyes flicked to Tweek when he sighed. “Find anything good?”  
   
Tweek nodded, looking rather pleased. “Yeah, I did.” He watched Craig for a moment. “…Anything I can help find?”  
   
Craig glanced at the list again. “I’m looking at antibiotics right now…..I need…” He squinted as he read the names. “…Paromomycin, Rifaximin, Cefalexin, Lincomycin, Telithromycin, and Penicillin of some kind. As much as we can get.” He looked at Tweek, who looked just as confused as he was. “…It’s a lot. But I was told to get some just in case…they all treat different stuff…and I guess Telithromycin is supposed to be for those allergic to penicillin…” He looked at his list. “I know what you can grab for me though while I do this.”  
   
Tweek, who had deflated a bit at all the medical jargon, perked right back up. “Sure!”  
   
“Kyle, one of the people in my camp. He’s Diabetic, type one. He wrote down all the information for his strips, his insulin, and so on.” He held out another slip of paper. “Get everything on this list, as much as you can get a hold of. Kyle said he’s getting low on his insulin, and that’s dangerous as fuck.”  
   
Tweek nodded in understanding, taking the paper and setting to work. It took him longer than he would have liked to find it, but once he did it was easy to take everything he could find and shove it in the bag. There were insulin pens, and just bottles all over the shelves; as a second thought, Tweek found a few boxes of sterile syringes and put those in the bag as well, just in case. By the time Tweek returned to Craig, the taller of the two had successfully pulled several bottles into the pockets of his tattered hoodie. “Mission success!” Tweek told him, holding out the bag to him.  
   
Craig paused, before a soft chuckle left him, dumping the contents of his pockets into the bag. “I guess so.” He took another glance at his list. “…that’s everything. Let’s head out.”  
   
Tweek nodded, zipping up the bag and heaving it over his shoulders. He teetered a little; it was heavier than he thought, but he managed. They were passing the candy isle when Tweek had a thought. “…Hey, Craig?” Craig paused, looking back at Tweek. “…You said your friend is diabetic so…should we maybe grab some candy or something, for emergencies?”  
   
Craig blinked a few times. The thought hadn’t really occurred to him, if he was honest. He had only known Kyle a couple weeks, so this whole diabetic thing was new to him. He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, thinking it over. “…I guess it couldn’t hurt,” he mused, waving Tweek off. He was fairly sure Kyle had glucose tablets or something for that reason, but the gesture was nice. He waited for Tweek, who grabbed a couple bags of smarties, before they headed out again.

* * *

It really didn’t take too terribly long to get to the rendezvous point, just outside of South Park. Tweek hadn’t known what to expect, but when he could make out what looked like two guys around their age standing in the distance, he figured that they were the ones Craig had been talking about. As they got closer, Tweek could make them out a bit better.  
   
One was tall, almost as tall as Craig, but more muscular and broad. He had a mop of messy brown hair, and his expression twisted into one of frustration and disbelief. Tweek could see him mouthing something, shaking his head and turning away with his arms in the air. He was clearly unhappy to see Craig had brought someone else.  
   
The other was very dark skinned, and seemed to be withholding his judgement of the situation with a calm expression. He adjusted his hold on the backpack he was carrying as the two approached. “Mission successful, I assume?” He asked, eyes flicking from Tweek back to Craig as they approached.  
   
But before Craig could answer, the brown haired man was on him. “We sent you to get FOOD, not another mouth to feed!” He yelled, shoving Craig hard and making him stumble back. “The _fuck_ were you thinking, Tucker?! We’re barely scraping by as it is!”  
   
At first, Craig’s expression didn’t seem to falter, but his brows quickly furrowed as his jaw clenched and lips set into a thin line. “It’s not your decision, Clyde, who gets to be part of this group—“  
   
“ _It’s not yours either!_ ”  
   
“—It’s a group decision. He needed help, and if the rest of the group wants to dump him, fine.” Tweek made an involuntary noise of distress at the idea. He didn’t want to be left alone, out in the middle of nowhere. “But that’s for _everyone_ to decide, not _you_.” He sneered. “You’re not the leader.” That got a reaction. Before either Tweek or the darker male could say anything, there was a fist colliding with Craig’s jaw. The two were quickly on the ground, throwing punches. The whole thing made Tweek shriek and flail, trying to break them up in his own way and failing miserably.  
   
The black guy, on the other hand, took a different approach; he was obviously used to this kind of behavior between the two. He quickly grabbed hold of the larger man—Clyde—by the back of his shirt and started yanking him back. Clyde was much larger than Craig, and easily had the advantage. He sputtered slightly as the neckline of his shirt pressed against his throat, distracting him enough that Craig was able to flip their positions.  
   
_Only to start wailing on Clyde with rapid-fire punches._  
   
Tweek shrieked again, stammering as he tried to get Craig’s attention and make him stop. “New guy!” Tweek looked up at the other male frantically. “Grab Craig from behind under his arms and pull him off, and hang on tight! I’ll take care of Clyde.” The blond looked back at Craig, before he nodded. He didn’t think he was strong enough for this, but he wasn’t sure; he had never had to pull a wriggling person around before. He took a deep breath, hooking his arms under Craig’s, and pulling him off. It wasn’t easy, between their height difference and Craig’s struggling, but Tweek was pleasantly surprised that he had managed it. As soon as they were apart, the dark-skinned male knelt on Clyde’s chest. “Both of you need to stop!” He scolded. “This isn’t the time for in-fighting! You two need to grow up; we need to get back to the camp before—“ He didn’t finish his sentence, eyes looking off behind Craig and Tweek. Tweek craned his neck, letting out a scream as he dropped Craig unceremoniously.  
   
Drawn to the yelling, a large group of corpses were making their way out of South Park to the rendezvous point Craig’s group had chosen. Craig and Clyde swore in unison, scrambling to get to their feet. Craig shoved his bat into Tweek’s hands. “Take it, you’ll have to defend yourself.”  
   
“B-but what about you?!” The words had barely left Tweek’s mouth when Craig pulled a pistol from the depths of his hoodie; attached was a silencer of sorts, something they had made in a pinch. Tweek made a small sound, mouth forming an o, before he watched the other two for a moment. Clyde pulled a large hunting knife from a sheath Tweek hadn’t noticed on his belt, while the other male quickly gathered everything they had collected.  
   
“Can you two hold them back?” He asked Craig and Clyde. The two glanced at each other, before giving a firm nod. Craig cracked his neck, taking steady aim, while Clyde smirked, twirling his knife in his hand. “Don’t be stupid,” he told them, before grabbing Tweek’s wrist and pulling him.  
   
Tweek shouted as he was pulled into running, stumbling as he tried to turn and look back at the two they had left behind. “We can’t just leave them!!”  
   
“They’ll be fine!” The other tried to assure. “They’re just buying us some time, they won’t be far behind us!” He looked back at Tweek, giving him a small smile. “Just trust me.” The blond forced himself to nod, pulling his wrist from the other’s hold to run properly. Running with the full backpack was difficult, making him tire out easier. He eventually tripped, landing face first in the dirt with a cry. The darker male stopped, kneeling beside him and panting. “You okay?”  
   
Tweek let out a small whine, sitting up on his heels and rubbing at his scuffed face. “Yeah…” He coughed a little, trying to get air into his lungs; his chest felt like it was on fire, and his legs were screaming in rebellion. He looked back the way they had ran; no sign of Craig and Clyde. “…where are they…?”  
   
“We can wait for them here. We’re safe for now.” There was a silence as the two looked back the way they came, both silently hoping nothing bad had happened. He licked his lips, before turning his attention to Tweek. “I’m Token, by the way…The jerk is Clyde. Sorry about all that…Clyde and Craig were the last to be brought into the group, and there was kind of an agreement made after that to keep the group small.”  
   
Tweek listened, nodding a little in understanding. He couldn’t say he blamed them; being in a larger group probably made you an easier target. “…I’m Tweek…” he chewed his lip, which was still sore from earlier. “…Do you think Clyde’s right…?”  
   
Token blinked a few times, before he hummed. He chose his words carefully. “…They’re both right and they’re both wrong. Clyde is right in the fact that having another person limits our resources, but you could end up being an asset. Craig was wrong in bringing you along, but he’s right that its not Clyde’s decision. And to be honest…” Token rubbed the back of his neck. “…As much as he denies it, I don’t think Clyde could walk away if he saw someone in trouble.”  
   
The blond made a small sound in the back of his throat, glancing at his lap. “I guess so.” He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, letting silence fall between them once more, and trying to process everything that had happened so far. It was a lot to take in. He jerked when he suddenly heard Token make a happy sound and stood up. Tweek blinked rapidly, before looking. He let out his own happy sound.  
   
Craig and Clyde were visible now, running toward them. From what Tweek could tell, they were both okay, and seemed to be on better terms? He got himself to his feet, with a little help from Token, before waving his arms excitedly. He had actually been terrified that they wouldn’t show up. Token just grinned, holding up his hands for high fives as the two approached; the sound of their hands colliding almost seemed to echo. It was only now that Tweek could really see the blood on their clothes and faces. “All good? No injuries?” Token asked them.  
   
“We’re good,” Craig replied, carefully wiping blood from his face. “Just gonna need our shirts washed.”  
   
“B-but…blood…” Tweek squeaked.  
   
Craig blinked slowly, looking down at the blood on his hoodie. “…It’s not our blood, Tweek.” As if a second thought, he pulled his hoodie off. The white shirt underneath was dingy and really needed to be washed too. “We’re fine.” He tried not to look at Tweek, whose brow was knit together in worry. “Let’s get to camp. I’m sure the others are worried by now.”  
   
Luckily, they really weren’t far from the camp. The rest of the walk was quiet; Tweek was still trying to process everything and was actually kind of glad for the silence between them. As they approached a heavily wooded area, Clyde stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled a little tune. This seemed odd to Tweek, who was a little startled to hear the call mimicked back. Token smiled at the shock on Tweek’s face. “That’s how we communicate, to let the others know it’s us, not the biters.” He climbed over what looked like wire, with tin cans hanging off of it. “Last thing we need is to attack our own people.” That made sense; Tweek climbed over the wire with Token’s help, making small noises as his foot almost caught on it.  
   
Out of the trees came another young man. He was just as disheveled as the rest of them, jacket tied around his waist and black hair covering his eyes a bit; it had grown far too long and he needed a hair cut, but they all did. He had his hands on his hips, a small smile on his lips. “Bout damn time you guys showed up. I was about ready to go after you.”  
   
“Shut up, Stan,” Craig grumbled, climbing over their makeshift alarm. “That would have been a fucking suicide mission and you know it. Besides, Kyle wouldn’t let you.” The other guy, Stan, shrugged a bit, making a non-commital noise. “We always come back.”  
   
“True, you’ve never let us down.” He paused, blinking rapidly as he looked at Tweek. “Who is that?” He didn’t sound angry, per say, just confused. Not that Tweek could blame him; the group left with three and came back with four. It was only natural to be a little confused.  
   
Clyde let out an annoyed growl. “I told him not to bring another mouth to feed!” He hissed. “But it’s ‘ _not my decision_ ’.” He made exaggerated air quotes as he said it, obviously still bitter.  
   
Somehow, that set something off in Craig. He quickly whipped around, grabbing Clyde by the shirt collar. Stan and Token were instantly ready to step in. “ _What was I supposed to do?!_ ” He roared, shaking Clyde harshly. Tweek felt his heart stop at Craig’s next words. “ _Watch him be eaten like my sister?!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory, Tweek has a meltdown, and Clyde is still a jerk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8 pages to this puppy! There was supposed to be another scene in here about Craig and his sister, but I was worried about the chapter being too long, so that will come later.
> 
> I want to thank all of you who have commented and left kudos! This is now becoming my most popular story, yet it is the newest! I’m really glad that you all have enjoyed it so much, thank you for giving this South Park newbie a chance!

Tweek’s heart was heavy in his stomach as Craig’s words echoed in his mind. Craig had a sister…? And he’d lost her…? Not just lost her, but _watched_ her die? The thought made him sick, the sound of Craig and Clyde yelling becoming distant. He faintly registered Stan and Token trying to break them up, but he ignored it; his mind was still trying to wrap around this new information. Had Craig only saved him because Tweek’s helplessness reminded him of his dead sister? Only Craig could answer that, and right now wasn’t the best time to ask. He swallowed thickly, forcing himself back to the present.  
   
The sound of the yelling had caught the attention of the others in the camp, one of them coming to investigate. He was blond, a baggy t shirt hanging off his frame, and a light dusting of freckles peppering his skin. Bright blue eyes flicked from Stan and the others, to Tweek, and back to the group. “Do you guys need help?” He asked, cracking his knuckles; his hands were covered by brown fingerless gloves.  
   
“No, Kenny,” Stan grunted, trying to get a firm hold on Clyde. He jerked his head toward Tweek. “Take the new guy to camp—fuck, Craig, quit punching!—we’ll be there as soon as we get things straightened out.”  
   
The blond nodded, before smiling at Tweek; it didn’t quite reach his eyes, which looked tired, but it was still genuine. “That settles it,” he replied, throwing his arm around Tweek’s shoulders and starting to lead him back through the trees. When Tweek kept trying to look back, he hummed. “Don’t worry about it. Things will calm down and everything will fall back to normal. Well, not that those two fighting isn’t normal, but it’ll calm down again.” He gave Tweek’s shoulders a squeeze, making the smaller of the two squeak. “Let’s just get you settled in, yeah? I’m Kenny.”  
   
“Tweek…” Tweek chanced a glance at him. “…Am I going to get to stay?” He asked, still thinking about what had started this whole fiasco.  
   
The blond blinked, before laughing. “What, did Clyde say something?” He gave a lazy grin. “That asshat thinks he’s the leader…we may have agreed to keep the group small, but I don’t see any problem with adding one more to the fold.” He paused. “I’m guessing Craig found you?”  
   
“Y-yeah…saved me, actually…”  
   
He put a hand over his heart almost dramatically. “That’s so cute. Well, Craig doesn’t like most people, so if he decided to let you come with him, he must have seen you needed us.” He brought Tweek into a clearing; there were a couple tents in the clearing, a small fire pit dug into the ground in the center. It wasn’t much, looking like a rugged campsite, but it was something. He was kind of impressed. “We all look out for each other. Hey, Kyle! Ike! Come welcome the new kid!”  
   
A mop of messy black hair popped out of the mouth of one of the tents. “Kyle’s still kinda dizzy,” he informed, making Kenny nod and click his tongue. “I can’t find his glucose tablets either…”  
   
“Oh!” Tweek scrambled to get the backpack off, making Kenny jump away from him. He knelt down, digging passed the bottles of antibiotics and knocking them out; Kenny was quick to grab the bottles so they wouldn’t lose them. Tweek grabbed a bag of smarties and tossed them to the teen in the tent. “They aren’t glucose tablets, but they’ll work in a pinch!” The teen grinned widely, catching the bag and opening it with his teeth before ducking back into the tent. Tweek grabbed as much of the diabetic supplies as he could carry, stumbling into the tent.  
   
Laying on one of the sleeping bags was who he assumed to be Kyle, curly red hair puffed out. He was pale, but sweating a bit. The teen was feeding him smarties from one of the wrappers, completely calm. Tweek moved and sat nearby, but giving them both some space. Kenny wasn’t far behind, climbing in with a hum. “Hey there, Kyley-B, how ya feeling?” The only response from the red head was the bird, making Kenny laugh loudly. “Yeah, you’re fine.” He looked to Tweek, steadily taking things from Tweek’s hands to put away for Kyle. “This is Kyle, and Ike. They’re brothers.”  
   
Tweek glanced between the two, brows furrowed. “…Really? You two look nothing alike.”  
   
“We’re not blood related,” Ike replied, putting the smarties away; too many at once would make Kyle’s blood sugar too high. “I was adopted when I was a baby. But we’re still brothers, and we take care of each other.”  
   
“That’s what siblings do,” Kenny replied softly, leaning back on his hands. He then grinned and reached out to ruffle Ike’s hair casually. “Look at you, taking care of your big brother! You’re such a good kid, Ike!”  
   
Ike batted at Kenny’s hands, though a small smile tugged at his lips. “Fuck you, Kenny.”  
   
“Love you tooooo!”  
   
Kyle slowly sat up, taking slow, deep breaths. He pulled a black case from his bag, pulling out his testing supplies. He glanced up at Tweek. “Sorry about this; probably not making the best first impression.”  
   
Tweek shook his head, looking away as Kyle tested his blood sugar. “No, i-it’s fine. Craig said you were diabetic, so I’m…not really bothered. More worried than anything.” He fidgeted with his hands, picking at his fingers and trying to squash down the anxiety bubbling in his chest. He was meeting too many people in such a short amount of time, it was starting to get to be too much. “I-I just hope you’re okay.”  
   
Kyle was quiet for a moment, before smiling a tad. “I’ll be alright. Don’t worry about me.” He looked at everything Kenny was putting away. “…Did you grab all these?”  
   
“Ah, Craig told me to…” he replied sheepishly. “But uhm…th-the smarties were my idea…”  
   
“They were a good idea,” Ike told him, dumping a packet of smarties into his mouth; Kenny smacked his arm. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did, it could have gotten a lot worse.”  
   
Tweek glanced between them, before smiling a little. “I’m glad I could help…m-make myself useful…” Kenny clapped his hand on Tweek’s back, making him yell. He cleared his throat after, a little embarrassed. “So, uhm…y-you all know each other before all this…?”  
   
Kyle looked at Ike, then Kenny, before he answered. “Well, not exactly. I’ve been friends with Stan since we were kids, but we met Kenny along the way. Then the others came along a few weeks ago.” He glanced down at his lap, remembering how things had ended up this way.

* * *

_Kyle had been going to college in Arizona. Stan and Kyle’s family had drove down to visit him, and for the most part, it had been a nice trip. It had been really hot, but they had still made the most of it._  
   
_It had been toward the end of the visit that things had gone horribly wrong. They had been at lunch, when they heard screaming. Stan, in his empathy for others, had run out to investigate, and Kyle wasn’t far behind; they had been beside each other for as long as they could remember. The crowd of walking dead had taken up the whole street, and anyone with a sane mind was running for their lives._  
   
_Kyle ran back to his family. “We need to go! Now!” Ike had been ready to listen, standing up, but Sheila grabbed his arm. ”Mom! We need to go!”_  
   
_“And where will we go?” She asked. “We go out there, and we’re bound to be trampled, it’s not safe out there!”_  
   
_“If we stay here we’ll die too!”_  
   
_“He’s right, Sheila, we need to do something.” Gerald at least seemed to understand the urgency. And yet, he didn’t move. Kyle looked frantically between the two of them, before Gerald stood, grabbing the keys to the car from his pocket and handing them to Kyle._  
   
_“Gerald! What are you—“_  
   
_“We need to give the boys a head start,” he replied simply. He waved Stan back over; Stan hesitated before coming back to the table. “Kyle, you and Stan take Ike, take the car. Drive. Just drive, as far as you can, away from here.” He looked at Sheila, who looked resigned; the pain was etched into her face. He took a breath, looking back at Kyle and Stan. “We’ll find you when we can.”_  
   
_The back of Kyle’s eyes started to burn, the realization slowly hitting him. “Dad, no, you can’t do this! We can go together!”_  
   
_“Kyle, do as your father says!” Sheila’s voice was shaking as she stood up as well; her own eyes were glassy, but her expression was fierce. She was determined, and when Sheila Broflovski was determined, nothing stopped her. “You and Stan are going to take Ike, and your father’s car, and leave.” Despite how strong she seemed, Kyle could see the tears threatening to fall. She knew this could be the last time she saw her boys, but if it meant they could have a chance, she would risk it all. She took a breath, pulling Kyle to herself and holding him tight. “You’ll be alright, bubbala,” She whispered. “I trust you to take care of your brother.”_  
   
_Kyle clung to his mother. As much as she bothered him at times, as over the top as she could be, he loved her more than anything. The idea of being without her…he couldn’t bear the thought. “Come with us,” he whispered, hands tightening in her shirt. “Please, mom…We can all leave together…”_  
   
_“Not this time, Kyle,” she told him, gently pulling him away from her. She had let the tears fall, but she smiled softly at him. Sheila gently wiped Kyle’s face as he started to cry. “Your safety is more important, and you know I will always fight to protect you.”_  
   
_Kyle took a step back from her, allowing Ike to hug his mom quickly. Stan and Gerald were shaking hands. “Thanks for everything, Mr. and Mrs. Broflovski,” Stan was saying, trying to keep the pain from his voice. He had actually been fond of the Broflovskis, even if he didn’t always see eye to eye with Sheila._  
   
_“Take care of our boys,” Gerald told him, affectionately messing up Stan’s hair._  
   
_“I will.”_  
   
_“I know.”_  
   
_Stan took a step back, grabbing hold of Kyle’s hand and starting to pull him away. Ike had already let go of Sheila and was trying to pull himself from them. Kyle was still in a state of shock and didn’t move, until Stan and Ike both started pulling him. The last any of them saw of Mr. and Mrs. Broflovski was Sheila grabbing a chair before they both charged outside to help._  
   
_The run to the car was a blur in Kyle’s mind; he didn’t remember reaching it at all. The first thing he remembered after that was sitting in the passenger seat of the car in the dead of night, Ike fast asleep in the back seat as Stan drove, knuckles white. The windshield had been cracked and was smeared with what looked like blood. Kyle took a deep breath, turning around to look at sleeping Ike. When he looked forward again, he whispered, “Please tell me that was all a bad dream…”_  
   
_“…I wish it was,” Stan replied; his voice was shaking. “I wondered when you were going to come back to the real world…had me scared for a while there, dude.”_  
   
_“Sorry…” Kyle shifted in his seat, noticing none of them were wearing seatbelts. “…How long has it been…?”_  
   
_“Mmm…it’s about 11 so it’s been about ten hours….” Stan sighed, looking around in the darkness. “….we should probably pull over for the night….Maybe if we can find a gas station…” He looked at the gauge. “Getting low…”_  
   
_“That long without filling up?”_  
   
_“No, I’ve filled up once already, we were on fumes…remarkable there was still a running gas station, I’m hoping to be lucky a second time.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember. You were really out of it…I kept trying to talk to you, but you didn’t respond.”_  
   
_“Oh…sorry…”_  
   
_Stan shrugged. “It’s okay…” It wasn’t okay, Kyle could tell, but he dropped it. They were lucky to find another working gas station, staying in their parking lot for the night._

* * *

Tweek looked sad as he watched Kyle’s eyes glaze over with unshed tears. It had to be painful, to watch your parents walk away to their death like that. Tweek hadn’t the same experience, but he could understand not being able to stop something so terrible. He made a sad sound. “I’m so sorry…”  
   
Kenny reached out and patted Kyle’s shoulder. “It’s not easy. But your parents did what they felt they needed to.”  
   
“I know,” Kyle mumbled, pulling his knees to his chest. “It still hurts…”  
   
“I know…” Kenny’s smile looked sad. It made Tweek look at him curiously, though he was too scared to really ask. Was it rude to ask? He thought it might be, considering potential implications. Kenny noticed, and chuckled a little. “Curious? It’s okay. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

* * *

_When everything happened, Kenny had grabbed his younger sister and fled the area. His parents had been gone, their older brother Kevin with them. Karen had expressed concern over their family, but Kenny didn’t care. All he cared about was keeping Karen safe. Being a bit of a delinquent, Kenny had a few tricks up his sleeve, hot-wiring a nearby car and driving out of the area as fast as he could. They jumped from car to car as necessary, carrying what few belongings they had with them._  
   
_Kenny had been in the middle of trying to hot-wire an old pick-up truck when Karen alerted him to the newcomers. She was a sweet girl, sharing what little water she and her brother had with them. Not that Kenny seemed to particularly mind. He stood up from his crouched position, watching as he assessed them. Kenny was a pretty good judge of character, and based on how the three strangers seemed to dote on each other and how nice they treated his sister, he saw no problem with them. “You guys look tired,” he commented, walking over to where Karen was sitting on the open bed of the pick-up._  
   
_“It’s been a long walk,” the red head replied tiredly, making sure the younger member of his group got some water. “Sorry for intruding, we won’t stay…”_  
   
_Kenny waved his hand casually. “Nah, nah, don’t worry about it. We could use some company.” More like, Kenny could use an extra set of eyes. Trying to keep an eye out for danger while watching over Karen was difficult, if he had someone else to travel with, it would ease some of the burden. “You’re welcome to join us. It would be nice to have somebody my own age around, ya know?” Karen whined a little, pouting at her brother. He ruffled her hair playfully, grinning._  
   
_Stan and Kyle both chuckled a little, the tenseness in their shoulders easing up a tad. “Yeah we get it.”_

* * *

Kenny trailed off with a smile, shrugging. “Not much else to tell. Here we are.”

Tweek was quiet for a moment, watching Kenny almost expectantly. “…But…where’s Karen…?”

Kenny’s smile faded, eyes darkening a bit. Kyle chewed his lip, glancing from Kenny to Tweek, then back to Kenny. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kenny beat him to it. “She died.” It was so calm, so matter-of-fact, it actually scared Tweek a bit. “I wasn’t watching her close enough. She got caught by one of them. She had her throat ripped out. Even if I killed it, she wasn’t going to survive.”

Tweek felt sick as he listened. “…R-ripped…her throat out…?” he put his hand to his own throat. He couldn’t imagine how horrible that would be, digging his fingers into his skin a bit. “That…that’s awful…”

“It was pretty horrible,” Ike admitted, voice oddly quiet. “Can’t say I ever want to see something like that again.”

“Unfortunately, that’s the state of the world now,” Kenny replied, moving to get up and head out of the tent. “It’s kill or be killed now.”

Tweek hesitated before following him out of the tent, wanting to apologize for asking. At the same time, the other four were returning. Token and Stan looked exasperated, while Craig and Clyde still looked angry, but at least they weren’t fighting anymore. He wanted to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, he shuffled awkwardly, watching the group interact. It was all so fluid, like clockwork; maybe he was a gear that didn’t fit. In the time he spent shuffling awkwardly by the tents, Ike and Kyle had come out, giving Tweek a little more insight.

When Kyle came out, Stan had been quick to greet him, hands on Kyle’s arms as he looked him over. His gaze on Kyle was almost loving, Tweek noticed, and Kyle gazed back in kind. He supposed Kyle’s little fainting spell had scared Stan; when they hugged, Tweek felt like he was intruding on something and glanced away quickly. His eyes settled on Clyde and Token, who were busy preparing the fire pit. With the pit in the ground, they could keep it burning longer without drawing attention to themselves. It was as if there had never been any tension, with the two smiling and joking with each other as they worked. Ike eventually joined them.

Then Tweek’s eyes settled on Kenny. While the blond had been so serious moments ago, I was as if nothing had happened. He was all smiles, teasing Stan and Kyle with blowing kisses and pretend swooning. It was kind of amusing, especially when Stan threw a rock at Kenny and missed. Tweek chuckled a little, watching as Kenny walked…over to Craig.

Craig was standing away from everyone, leaning on a tree with his hands in his pockets. His head was lowered, only lifting a bit when Kenny approached; he flipped Kenny off, but the blond didn’t seem bothered by it, standing beside Craig. His expression was soft as he spoke to Craig, a look of understanding crossing his face. Craig barely glanced at him, the Tweek could see a ghost of a smile on his face when Kenny reached up and squeezed Craig’s shoulder.

Tweek swallowed thickly, realization washing over him. Craig and Kenny both lost their younger sisters. Kyle had lost his parents. Given how things were, it was highly likely that Clyde, Token, and Stan had all lost someone too. And while he knew there was a chance that his own parents were dead, he couldn’t help but feel _guilty_. Guilty that, in the middle of all this, it had somehow ended up about him. His breath caught in his throat, anxiety seeping into his lungs and stealing the air away. People were suffering, and here he was, panicking about being allowed to stay. It was so damn selfish.

“I’m sorry!” He suddenly screamed. Everyone went quiet, looking at Tweek with varying degrees of confusion etched onto their faces. That just made Tweek’s anxiety worse; he twitched and made small noises. “I-….I’m….!”

Kenny was the first to break the stillness, leaving Craig’s side to go to Tweek. “What’s up, Tweekers?” He asked, voice calm. He paused and held his hands up when Tweek started to retreat, hands going to his hair and tugging on it. “Hey, hey…Tweek, it’s okay.” He took slower steps, as if trying not to startle a wild animal; Tweek practically was one. “What’s up? Talk to me.”

“I’m sorry,” Tweek repeated. He was doing it again, making everything about himself. He tugged at his hair, making an almost animalistic noise as he started having a complete meltdown. He released his hair, only to start hitting his head with the butt of his palm. “Ngh! I’m so selfish! Stupid stupid stupid—!”

Kenny moved quickly, grabbing Tweek’s wrists. “Hey now, none of that,” he chided gently. Tweek struggled a little, breath hitching. “Hey, look at me. Talk to me. What are you apologizing for? Why are you selfish?” As if a second thought, he added, “If you want to stay here, you’re going to have to communicate.”

That caught Tweek’s attention, eyes locking on Kenny’s face. The larger blond offered Tweek a small smile, trying to assure him it was okay. Tweek’s eyes flicked over the others; everyone was watching, but Craig’s gaze was the most intense. He shifted under Craig’s gaze, trying to pull himself together. “…I…E-everyone is suffering.” Kenny’s grip on Tweek’s wrists eased up a tad. “Everyone is in pain…from losing someone. And here I am, panicking that you guys won’t let me stay, trying to prove myself and just making people sad instead. And now everyone’s attention is on me, and I feel awful for making it all about me when you guys need the attention, because I’m not the one grieving; I don’t even know if my parents are alive or not…!”

Slowly, the gazes around him seemed to soften. Kyle was first to speak. “Tweek…No one is upset with you.”

“Yeah,” Ike quipped from the fire pit. “I think it’s safe to say we’ve had our time to grieve, as limited as it has been…”

Kenny nodded, letting Tweek’s wrists go. His smile was sad as he ruffled Tweek’s hair. “Sure, we’re still sad…That’s something that never goes away. But we’re okay. No one is mad at you.” He shifted, looking at everyone else. There were quiet murmurs of agreement. Kenny turned back to Tweek, smile a bit warmer. “You’re alright, Tweekers.”

* * *

Things slowly settled, and it wasn’t long until Tweek was sitting amongst the ragtag group as Token passed out the rations for the night. Kenny stuck close to Tweek, his need to protect and care for Tweek strong. He blamed that fact that Tweek’s timid demeanor reminded him so much of Karen growing up. They sat in a circle around the fire pit; Stan, Kyle and Ike sat together, Token separated Craig and Clyde. Tweek couldn’t help but notice Craig was right across from him, glancing up at him now and then. Craig hadn’t said a word since Tweek’s outburst, his face blank. It bothered Tweek that he couldn’t really tell what Craig was thinking or feeling; the others were much easier to read.

Their meal was mostly quiet, and it took most of Tweek’s self control to not gulp it all down. He watched the others between bites, trying to distract himself. He noticed Kyle giving half of his rations to Ike, which made Stan frown a tad. “You need to eat more,” Stan hissed, brows furrowed.

“He needs it more than I do,” Kyle argued in hushed tones.

“You almost passed out today, you need it,” Stan retorted, giving Kyle some of his to make up for it. It was almost endearing how Stan looked after Kyle, and made Tweek smile a bit. He stared at his lap, unconsciously twitching. It was something Tweek couldn’t control, no matter how badly he wanted to. It was one of the things he had been bullied over as a kid. The only thing that ever seemed to calm them was coffee, and that was a luxury Tweek hadn’t had in quite some time. Although, he found it interesting that it wasn’t as severe as it had been in the first week or two of being locked up. Odd.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Tweek looked up quickly, to find Clyde staring at him. “I-…what…?”

He gestured to Tweek a bit. “You keep twitching and making weird little noises. So what’s wrong with you?”

Tweek had been about to open his mouth when Craig let out an annoyed growl. “Oh for fucks sake, Clyde! You don’t just ask someone that, dickhead!”

“Who are you calling a dickhead, fuckface?!”

There was a collective groan from the group as they continued to yell insults at each other over Token, who just resigned to his fate. It didn’t take long, however, for Kenny and Kyle to frantically climb over to them, covering their mouths while hissing for them to shoosh. Behind the crackle of the fire, rustling could be heard, followed by faint growling. Tweek’s breath caught, quickly covering his mouth so he wouldn’t make a sound. They all stayed quiet for several minutes, eyes darting and heads turning to see in the darkness. It was eventually Token who broke the silence. “…we should move to higher ground for the night…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General camp shenanigans and a little drama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for all the support! I’ve gotten more feedback on this story than anything I’ve ever written in my 15 years of writing fanfiction. Thank you all so much!

To say that the night had been awful would have been an understatement. Trying to sleep on the larger branches of the trees had proven to be quite difficult; Tweek found he had a huge kink in his neck when he pulled himself out of the light dozing state. The sun had barely risen and _god damn_ it was way too early for this. He could hear some of the others groaning as they too shifted on their branches. Craig was on the next branch over from Tweek, sitting up as he tugged on his chullo with a yawn. He gave Tweek a small nod of acknowledgement before glancing down at the camp; Tweek looked as well. The camp looked undisturbed. Craig sighed. “Everyone awake?”  
   
There was a loud chorus of sleepy grumbles and mumbles, tree limbs shaking as the others shifted in their spots. Tweek glanced around; Everyone had taken their own branches, except for Stan and Kyle. Kyle was half laying on Stan, who was leaning on the trunk of the tree and yawning. If he was honest, Kyle looked the most comfortable out of everyone.  
   
Once Craig made a quick head count, he started heading down. “Let’s get out of these trees. Worst night ever…” There were murmurs of agreement as everyone started working their way back down from the trees. Tweek had never really climbed trees before, and had had get help from Kenny just to get up the tree. Getting down was a whole different story. He made a few panicked sounds as he watched everyone climb down almost effortlessly.  
   
When Tweek didn’t seem to be coming down, Kenny looked up from the base of the tree to check on him. “Tweek? You going to stay up there all day?”  
   
“Ngh…! I, uhm…I don’t know how to get down.”  
   
There was a pause, before Kenny covered his mouth and laughed a little. Tweek pouted. “Aw, Tweekers. It’s just like how you got up there last night. Just do what I told you.”  
   
“Wh-what if I fall?! And crack my head open!”  
   
Kenny shook his head. “You’ll be fine. I’ll catch you.”  
   
“Ahhh! What if I crush you and you hit your head and die?!”  
   
“Tweek, it’ll be fine. Besides, I can’t die.”  
   
“Everyone can die!”  
   
Kenny smiled softly. “Would you feel better if someone else was here to help me catch you?” Tweek hesitated and nodded. The bigger blond nodded as well, turning away from Tweek. “Hey Craig! Come play human parachute with me!”  
   
“What?”  
   
“I need help catching Tweek if he falls.”  
   
Craig came back into view, looking up at Tweek with a raised brow. “…He’s still up there?”  
   
“Yeah…” Kenny put his hands on his hips. “He’s scared he’s going to fall.” He looked up again, holding his arms out. “Come on, Tweek, just like I showed you. Craig and I will be here to catch you.”  
   
Tweek swallowed, shifting on the branch as he tried to get ready to climb down. He couldn’t really find a good handle to climb, but he knew he should try anyway. He moved slow, finding his footing as his legs came off the branch. He started climbing down; Okay, this wasn’t so bad, maybe he could do this. He gave a small laugh as he found himself actually climbing down. Maybe he could do it after all!  
   
But, of course, he had to jinx himself. His hands lost their grip, and he let out a shriek as he fell back. As promised, Kenny and Craig caught him, the momentum dragging them both to the ground and knocking the breath out of them. The three laid there on their backs for a moment, Clyde and Kyle coming to check on them. “You guys okay?” Kyle asked, stifling a laugh behind his hand.  
   
Kenny laughed a bit, coughing, before giving a thumbs up. Craig groaned, shoving Tweek off him and making the smaller man squeak. “I-I’m sorry! Are you okay?! Did you hit your head?! Did I hurt you?!”  
   
Kenny laughed, sitting up as Tweek climbed off of him and Craig. “We’re fine,” he coughed. “Just got the wind knocked out of us. Don’t worry.” Craig nodded in agreement as he got up, cracking his neck and back.  
   
Tweek watched him leave, nodding a bit. At least they seemed to be okay. Kenny got up, patting his back before he started going around and asking if anyone had something they wanted washed. The question confused Tweek; they didn’t have a washing machine, so how was Kenny going to wash clothes? As a second thought, Tweek sniffed his clothes and almost puked. He had been in the same clothes for weeks, and he hadn’t realized how awful they smelled. He watched Kenny gather some clothes; Craig handed over his shirt and bloody jacket, Clyde gave up his jacket, Token and Stan both handed over their pants and just sat around in their underwear. Ike and Kyle ducked into one of the tents before tossing both their pants and shirts at Kenny, making him laugh. He then looked back at Tweek and motioned for him to follow. “C’mon, laundry duty!” Tweek blinked, before pointing at himself and going over. “Yes, you! Grab the makeshift washboard and bar of soap.” Tweek glanced around, finding said items leaning on one of the tents, before following Kenny down to the riverbank.  
   
It was oddly peaceful down by the river, and for a moment Tweek found himself at ease. He smiled faintly as he watched Kenny roll up his pant legs, peeling his shoes and socks off. He tossed his socks into the pile, then his shirt. Kenny then looked at Tweek. “You need anything washed?” Tweek glanced down at himself. He should probably wash his pants…and underwear, now that he thought about it. Actually, everything needed washing. He fidgeted a bit, making uncomfortable noises. Kenny chuckled. “You can sit in the water if you’re self conscious. Not that there’s anyone out here to see you, but…” He shrugged.  
   
Tweek shifted, before clumsily undoing his shirt and tossing it to Kenny. There was hesitation before Tweek peeled off everything else and threw it at the blond, running into the water and letting out a shriek. _Fuck it was cold!_ He shivered in the river for a moment, teeth chattering. Kenny laughed, setting to work on laundry. Tweek watched as Kenny carefully took care of the clothes; he was oddly good at washing clothes like this. He cocked his head, trying to control his shivers. “S-so, Kenny…Wh-what was your life like b-before all this…?”  
   
Kenny didn’t glance up, humming softly as he debated on what to say. “Uneventful. My family was really poor. Like…sharing frozen waffles because we didn’t have the money for food. We never really had much; most of my parents’ money went to beer.” When Tweek made a small, concerned noise, he laughed a little. “That wasn’t even the worst part. My dad and my older brother were both abusive drunks, and more than once my parents hosted meth-heads in our garage.”  
   
Meth? Oh, that was something Tweek was a little familiar with. At least, in theory. “My parents never really paid attention to me,” he murmured. “They cared more about their coffee shop than me, always dismissed my condition and just gave me coffee instead of dealing with my problems…” He glanced at the sky; it was so pretty and blue. “Oddly, the coffee seemed to help with my tics and delusions….”  
   
Kenny paused washing Tweek’s shirt, raising a brow as he glanced at him. “…Sounds like drug withdrawal symptoms.” And that was something Kenny was intimately familiar with; he had made the mistake of getting involved in drugs once when he was a kid, and he remembered how awful the withdrawals were.  
   
Tweek gave a small shrug. “There were rumors that my parents put meth in their coffee, but no one ever cared enough to prove it.”  
   
That made Kenny laugh. “Yay for questionable parenting practices,” he chuckled. “I guess we have some stuff in common.” Tweek couldn’t help but smile and nod; at least he was making friends in this apocalyptic world.

* * *

Once all the clothes were washed, and mostly dry, the two returned to camp. It felt nice to be in clean clothes; they didn’t smell as good since they had no softener, but at least they didn’t stink anymore. Kenny was ready to pass out the clean clothes, only to see Clyde and Stan arguing; Clyde was holding some rations, while Stan was trying to take it away.  
   
“We need to save as much as we can!” Stan was saying. “We only have so much, we can’t just go get more whenever we want! Everything is limited!”  
   
“But I’m hungry,” Clyde tried to argue. “I need my strength!”  
   
“You’re perfectly fine,” Craig commented, going to grab the clothes from Kenny. “You showed plenty of strength yesterday.” He heard Clyde make an indignant noise, and instantly flipped him off without looking back.  
   
Kenny handed the clothes over to Craig, walking over. He snatched the food from Clyde with a firm expression. “If you eat your share now, you won’t get any tonight. We agreed to this, remember?” Clyde huffed, but nodded. Kenny nodded as well, going to put the food back.  
   
Slowly, the clothes were passed out, and everything was settling back to normal. Craig eventually excused himself, saying he wanted to check the traps. “Last night was too close, I’m afraid there may be a breach.”  
   
“Then I’ll go check the fishing nets!” Ike chirped, fully dressed again and standing up quickly.  
   
Kyle stumbled out of the tent, adjusting his pants. “Ike, you’re not going anywhere.”  
   
Ike let out a groan, crossing his arms and puffing his cheeks out almost comically. “I’m not helpless…”  
   
The red head scowled. “Ike, we’re not having this argument. You’re my responsibility, and I don’t want you going out there. Besides, you’re just a kid—“  
   
“I’m not a kid anymore!” Ike clenched his hands into fists, hands at his sides. “I’m almost sixteen, Kyle, and if you haven’t noticed, I’ve defended myself plenty of times since this all went down! I don’t have a choice but to defend myself, and I don’t want to be dead weight who doesn’t do anything!”  
   
Kyle’s jaw clenched, hands flexing at his sides. He took a deep breath, thinking about what Ike said. He knew his little brother was right, but he couldn’t help but be worried. It was Stan who broke the tension. He stepped up, putting a hand on Kyle’s shoulder and handing Ike what looked like a machete. “Here. Take this with you at least.”  
   
“Stan—“  
   
“Let him go, Kyle.” The taller of the two smiled a bit. “Ike’s proven to be a pretty good fighter, he’ll be alright.” The red head didn’t look happy about it, but nodded, waving Ike off. Ike grinned widely, holding the machete in both hands excitedly before running off to the river.  
   
Tweek watched for a moment, before absently looking around. There wasn’t a lot to do, that he was aware of. He happened to notice Token looking over a large map, chewing on the end of a pen between making marks. Hesitantly, Tweek came over, looking over the black man’s shoulder. “…wh-what are you doing…?”  
   
Token glanced up at Tweek before turning back to the map. “Trying to decide the best place to go from here. I mean, this _is_ only a temporary camp site. We’re going to have to leave eventually, and it’s best to have an idea where to go before we have to go.” He shifted, letting Tweek sit beside him. The two went over the map, Tweek pointing out specific areas; while he had never been out of South Park before, he knew a little about the towns and cities around the tiny mountain town. The two took turns pointing things out and making backup plans.

* * *

Craig came back after a while, having had to do a few repairs. He looked faintly annoyed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’m so sick of this _bullshit_ ,” he growled.  
   
Kyle looked up from where he was counting rations out. “Was there a breach?”  
   
“Yeah,” he replied, sitting down clumsily before flopping back in the grass. “Not sure how it happened, but there was a whole section taken out. I fixed it though, so it’s fine.”  
   
Tweek twitched a little. “So something really could have come and killed us last night?”  
   
Craig lifted his head, looking at Tweek critically before he responded. He realized that his words bore a lot of weight. “Maybe. But we were okay. So don’t worry about it.”  
   
Tweek opened his mouth to say something, but only shrieked when a blood curdling scream pierced the air. Everyone’s eyes went wide at the sound, and Kyle stood up quickly, face pale. “IKE!” Everyone quickly scrambled to their feet; Clyde and Craig both grabbed weapons as the group all headed toward the riverbank.  
   
Ike was sitting on the edge of the riverbank, half of a decayed torso latched on to him. It’s teeth dug into Ike’s calf, tearing the skin and muscle almost effortlessly. Ike screamed, swinging the machete to try and get the thing off. Craig instantly sped up at the sight, an angry sound leaving him as he wound up his bat, swinging it at full force at the biter’s torso, effectively ripping its body off it’s arms. The teeth in Ike’s leg were removed, allowing Craig and Clyde to go to town on it.  
   
Token and Tweek hurriedly pulled Ike from the riverbank, blood trailing behind them. Kyle was in a full panic. “We need to stop the bleeding!” He practically screamed, before hurriedly trying to pull Stan’s jacket from around his waist. Stan allowed it, handing it over before he ran back to camp. Kyle hurriedly pressed the jacket to Ike’s wound harshly, making his little brother scream in pain. “Fuck fuck fuck…! I knew I shouldn’t have let you go…! I knew this would happen!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some personal growth and reflection

Getting Ike back to camp had been a clumsy affair. Stan had grabbed some gauze to cover the wound, but it hadn’t been enough. It took Craig, Clyde, and Stan to carry Ike back to camp, the teen screaming in pain the whole way. Kyle wasn’t much better, in full panic along side them; he was yelling at them to be careful, near tears at the implications the bite caused. Kenny was trying to soothe Kyle and failing miserably, Token and Tweek following behind them.  
  
Once they had settled back into camp, it had been Tweek and Stan assigned with cleaning Ike up; Kyle was in no state to do so, hands shaking violently. Tweek, of course, had been the first to bring up their own safety. “I-if he’s infected, and we come into contact with his blood, we could be infected too!”  
  
“Right, right, gloves…” Stan dug through the first aid kit they had accumulated, finding a few pairs of gloves and handing a set to Tweek before putting on a pair for himself. Stan’s heart was hammering in his chest; Kyle had started crying by then, Ike’s head in his lap, and the sight was stressing Stan out a tad. The taller of the couple had to take a few breaths before pulling out everything they could possibly need or use.  
  
Under normal circumstances, Tweek would have been in a complete panic. But something about the fact that the other three in the tent were so stressed out made him force himself to be steady. _They need someone to be calm_ , he kept telling himself, taking a few deep breaths despite the frantic pounding in his chest. To say he was terrified would have been an understatement. He settled his eyes on the bite, swallowing down the bile he felt bubble up his throat.  
  
As expected, it was ugly as sin. The majority of the skin had been ripped away, leaving it a bloody mess with a hunk of skin missing. The visible muscle underneath had been ripped as well, torn strings of muscle almost dangling off the bite itself. The blood kept coming, dripping in thick tendrils over Stan’s jacket, which they had laid under Ike’s elevated leg. Tweek gagged a bit, grabbing some gauze and dousing it in what disinfectant they had. “…This is gonna hurt,” he mumbled, preparing himself for what he knew would come. He pressed the doused gauze to the open wound.  
  
A pained scream ripped through Ike’s throat, his hand clutching at Kyle’s arm hard enough to leave marks with his nails. Choking back a sob, Kyle grabbed his own jacket and shoved the sleeve into Ike’s mouth for him to bite on. He still screamed, but at least it was muffled. Tweek felt awful, trying to clean the wound as much as he could while Stan readied another chunk of gauze with ointment. Tweek removed the doused gauze as Stan pressed the clean one to the wound, piling several sheets of it while Tweek started wrapping bandages around Ike’s calf. They kept it firm, putting several layers over the wound in hopes it would stop the bleeding. By the time they finished, Ike had passed out.  
  
The two were careful about discarding the soiled gloves, Stan deciding his jacket wasn’t salvageable. They cleaned up what they could, Stan wanting to stay with Kyle and Ike after. Tweek gave them their space, tuning in on the conversation going on a little ways away.  
  
Upon returning to camp, the other four had a meeting about the situation. Tweek quietly tuned in, curiosity getting the better of him. They were speaking in hushed voices, obviously not wanting Kyle or Ike to hear them. “What if he turns?” Clyde hissed, eyes wide. He glanced between the other three. “Huh? What if he turns?”  
  
“We will deal with it when it happens,” Token replied calmly, though there was definitely a hint of fear in his eyes. “But there’s no guarantee that he will. We have no proof that the parasite transferred to him.”  
  
“Do we really want to take that chance?” The broader man asked almost incredulously. “What if he turns in the middle of the night and kills us? What then?!”  
  
Craig frowned just a tad, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Dude, you’re treating this like it’s a death sentence.”  
  
“It is! For him and for us!” As if it would give him leverage, Clyde then turned to Kenny. “What about you?” He asked. “You’d do anything to keep Stan and Kyle safe, right?”  
  
Kenny’s eyes narrowed dangerously, almost a sneer coming to his face. “Oh, _fuck_ no,” he scoffed, jabbing at Clyde’s chest with a finger. “Don’t pull my bond with them into this, dipshit. Don’t you _fucking dare_ think that my concern for their safety overrides Ike’s life.” He lowered his hand, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he folded his arms over his chest. “I’m with Token on this one; we all know the signs. I say we keep an eye on him, and if it becomes too dangerous…” He made the gesture of a gun to his head. “…we take him out.”  
  
Craig made a face at the implication. “He’s not an animal…” He then heaved a sigh, glancing off for a moment as he thought about it. “…Alright. Let’s go with that plan.” Craig glanced toward where Kyle and Stan were; his eyes briefly flicked to Tweek, making note that Tweek had been listening. “Who gets to tell Stan?”  
  
“I’ll talk to him,” Kenny sighed, his once stiff shoulders going slack as he glanced at the two. He dropped his arms to his sides. “I get to be the harbinger of death. _Whoop-dee-doo._ ”  
  
“One of us could do it,” Token offered.  
  
“Nah…it’ll be taken better coming from me,” Kenny replied, waving the black man off. He flashed a smile, though Tweek could tell it lacked any real emotion. “I got this.” Before anyone could argue, Kenny went to get Stan, whispering in his ear briefly. Stan looked at Kenny, then to Kyle and Ike. Tweek watched as Stan got up and followed Kenny to the furthest reaches of camp. It didn’t take long for Tweek to see Stan’s expression contort to a mix of anguish and pain. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but knew there was a slight disagreement going on, before Stan relented. His shoulders sagged as he nodded sadly. Kenny enveloped him in a hug, which Stan returned as he buried his face in Kenny’s shoulder for a moment.  
  
If Stan wasn’t taking this well, there was no way Kyle would.

* * *

A few days passed. The bleeding from Ike’s wound had slowed, if not stopped, between bandage changes. It still wasn’t pretty to look at, but each of the camps’ members took turns taking care of the wound. Despite the circumstances, Ike was in high spirits, chatting everyone up when he had the chance and acting as if he hadn’t been attacked. It actually helped ease the heavy atmosphere quite a bit.  
  
But things were about to head downhill.  
  
Stan had just finished bandaging Ike up again when Craig came storming back into camp. No one had a chance to say anything, before Craig barked, “We need to move camp. Now. This isn’t up for debate.”  
  
The camp was oddly still for a moment. Stan spoke up first, brows furrowed. “On what grounds?”  
  
“On the grounds of fuck you,” Craig spat, flipping Stan off. “The camp isn’t safe anymore. Too many of the traps have been set off, and the alarms have been breached too many times. They’re aware of us and are trying to get to us more than they already have.” He gave Ike a pointed look. “And more likely than not, they can smell Ike’s blood.”  
  
“Assuming that’s how they find their prey,” Token mumbled, brows furrowed in thought. He went to grab the map.  
  
“Wh-where would we go though?” Tweek asked, worrying his lip.  
  
“Anywhere that isn’t here,” Craig replied, his tone softening just a bit.  
  
“You’ve forgotten one big, glaring detail,” Kyle hissed, standing up from where he had been sitting with Ike. He made a grand gesture at his little brother, making the teen pout a little. “Ike can’t walk! We can’t go anywhere!”  
  
Kenny held his hands up passively as he approached Kyle. “Kyle, pumpkin, it’s okay. I can carry him on my back, or Clyde can. Or Stan even!” He flashed a smile, trying to calm the red-head down. “It’s not like we can’t move him; he’s stable. He just can’t walk.”  
  
“Kenny’s right,” Stan added, getting up and putting a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “We can take turns carrying Ike.” He paused for a moment, letting the information sink in; when Kyle was wound up, it sometimes took a moment for him to really register what was being said to him. “If it’s not safe here, we can’t keep Ike here. We can’t keep ourselves here.” He gave Kyle’s shoulder a squeeze.  
  
The red-head took a breath, jaw still clenched as his shoulders lowered a tad. “Okay. Fine. But that still doesn’t answer the question of where we’re going to go.”  
  
Token hummed, opening up the map. Tweek and Craig each leaned over Token’s shoulder, looking it over. “Well, there’s a few different directions we could take,” he murmured, gesturing to their current location. “We came from the south, so there’s no going back…”  
  
Craig didn’t make a sound, eyes taking in all the information held in the map. He then pointed. “What’s this?”  
  
“Looks like a town,” Token replied, humming. “And by the looks of it, it’s the closest to where we are. Even so, it’s probably going to take a few days to get there…”  
  
“But if we can reach the town,” Clyde began, rubbing his neck a bit. “We may be able to get more supplies. Or find someone that can help.” The likelyhood that there was anyone with the knowledge of a cure to all this was pretty damn slim, but it was a hope they all silently held on to. “At the very least, we may be able to find a safe place for a while.”  
  
“So how long do you think it will take to get there?” Stan asked, walking over to take a look at the map.  
  
The black man didn’t reply at first, making quick calculations. “Well…if we move continuously during the day, from dawn to dusk, maybe…two to three days?”  
  
Kenny frowned. “And that’s the closest?”  
  
“Yeah,” Craig replied. “Next closest looks like it’s twice as far. Might be our best bet.”  
  
The red-head sighed. “Well…if this is the best course of action…then let’s go.”  
  
Craig nodded, straightening up and moving from Token. “Alright, let’s pack up. Token, set our course. Clyde, go get what traps we can salvage.” Clyde saluted before running off. “The rest of us, break down camp. We leave in an hour.”

* * *

Breaking down Camp hadn’t been so bad; once the tents were taken down, it was rather easy to distribute supplies to everyone. Craig and Clyde took the tents and salvaged traps, letting Kyle, Tweek and Stan carry the majority of the supplies. Token had a backpack while looking over the map with his compass. Kenny took the first shift of carrying Ike on his back, with a smaller bag strapped to Ike’s back. It was close to mid-afternoon, Tweek guessed, so he knew they weren’t going to get far. Even so, they moved in almost a caravan out of the forest. It was quiet between them, save for the occasional conversation between Craig and Token about the trip.  
  
Tweek took the time to reflect on his situation. It had been about a week since Craig had rescued him from the biters in South Park; at least, by his counting, it seemed that way. Almost a month since the epidemic had hit the little mountain town. Green eyes flicked up to look at Craig, who was deep in conversation with Token. If Craig hadn’t saved him…what would have happened? Would he have been killed? Or could he have gotten away? Tweek wasn’t sure, but he didn’t exactly believe he would have been able to survive even if he _had_ gotten away. A soft smile tugged at his lips; no matter how harsh Craig could come across as, he always seemed to calm down a bit when Tweek was involved. But, that could have been because of Craig’s sister… Tweek frowned a little; he had almost forgotten that detail, the fight from his first night nothing but a faint memory.  
  
A laugh caught Tweek’s attention, eyes flicking to his left. Kenny was grabbing flowers as they passed and handing them up to Ike, who was weaving them into a crown out of boredom. The smaller blond couldn’t help but smile; Kenny was an interesting character. Tweek had never had a sibling before, but Kenny was what he had always imagined an older brother to be like. Easy-going, but stern. Protective, but fun. He was a bit of a pervert, something Tweek had learned in the last week, but he was nice. It made Tweek happy. Ike was another story; there were a few similarities between him and Kyle, but Ike was a completely different person. He was laid back, and cracked his share of jokes. Tweek wondered if it was a defense mechanism, but never thought to ask. He had a mouth on him, something Tweek saw examples of many times when he and Kyle would fight, but he was devoted.  
  
Tweek’s eyes then settled on Stan and Kyle; they each had a bag in one hand, their free hands clasped together. Kyle’s head was hung low, his green ushanka pulled down over his mess of hair; Stan was speaking quietly, his thumb running over the back of Kyle’s hand. Tweek hadn’t quite figured out those two yet. From what he had seen, he knew they were in a relationship, and were quite close. They were similar in their mannerisms, but so very different in personality. Kyle was quick to anger, and much more driven by his emotions—which were, understandably, all over the place at present. Despite that, he was kind, if a bit sarcastic when the time called for it. Stan, on the other hand, seemed to be much more level headed. He was sweet, and even sensitive, if Tweek was reading things right; that didn’t mean he couldn’t dish it out like his boyfriend.  Stan’s reactions to things happening within the group suggested he had a lot of empathy. He had also learned how far Stan would go for someone he cared about; Stan had told Tweek the story of how he had tried to donate one of his kidneys to Kyle when he suffered from renal failure when they were kids. All in all, they seemed to balance each other out.  
  
Clyde was someone Tweek was a little surprised by. Despite their initial misgivings, Clyde had proven himself to be quite kind, if a bit scatter-brained. Since things had calmed down between them, Clyde had proven himself to be rather nice and less snarky than most of the others. Tweek still wasn’t sure about him, but as long as he wasn’t being yelled at, he was fine.  
  
Then there was Token. He was calm, being the only one to really stay level headed among the chaos that had found the group as of late. Despite that, he was still compassionate, doting on Ike and comforting Stan and Kyle as necessary. He was a bit more serious than the others, usually rolling his eyes at any of their antics when they had down time, but Tweek usually caught a smile from him.  
  
They were certainly an odd bunch.  
  
“Hey there, Tweekers.”  
  
Tweek jumped, yanking himself out of his thoughts with a cry. Kenny was standing right beside him, carrying the bag Stan had been carrying; Ike was now on Stan’s back, allowing Kyle to check on his brother. The crown of wildflowers was perched on Kenny’s head with pride. The smaller of the two let out a shaky breath as he tried to calm down. “O-oh, hi Kenny….”  
  
“Whatcha doing?” Kenny asked, tucking his arms behind his back and bouncing the bag on his thighs as he walked.  
  
“N-nothing…just kind of…reflecting, I guess.” He looked around at their ragtag group. “I-I’ve never been with so many people at once…i-it’s all overwhelming sometimes.”  
  
Kenny hummed softly, a small smile tugging at his lips. “It’s nice to have friends, huh?” His words made Tweek blink, a soft gasp leaving him. “We look out for each other.”  
  
“…friends…?” He looked up at Kenny, eyes wide. “…I…have friends….?”  
  
Kenny’s blue eyes watched Tweek for a moment, before he laughed quietly. “Of course you do, Tweek.” One arm came around Tweek’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “We’re your friends.”

* * *

Sunset came on a lot quicker than they would have liked, cutting their travel time short. It didn’t seem like much progress had been made, which made Tweek a little disappointed. But they couldn’t travel at night, especially not with Ike injured; any extraneous light would attract attention to their group. As such, they agreed to stop for the night. There was just one, very big problem.  
  
_They were in the middle of an open field._  
  
There were no trees they could hide in, no way to set up their alarm of cans on a wire, and that was a terrifying prospect, something everyone expressed concern over. “Okay okay,” Token began, waving for the others to quiet down. “Regardless, we can’t safely go any further. For now, let’s focus on making camp for the night. Once things are settled, we can discuss what to do.”  
  
Craig sighed. “Not like we have a choice. Stan, Kyle, get the tents up. Clyde, Token, set up a fire pit for the night. Kenny can sort tonights rations.”  
  
Tweek shifted from foot to foot, setting the bag he was carrying down. “Wh-what about me? I want to be useful…”  
  
Craig was quiet for a moment, before putting a hand on Tweek’s head. It startled him a little, green eyes blinking up at Craig curiously. “You’re going to help me set up some traps to keep us safe,” he replied simply, letting his hand drop to go grab the traps. Tweek stood there, putting a hand on his head where Craig’s hand had been moments before. It had been a strange gesture, but he had found it to be kind of…calming. He smiled a little, letting his hand drop just as Craig returned with the traps, leading him a little ways from the group.  
  
The traps were rather primitive, mostly consisting of things like large pointed sticks being shoved into the ground at an angle, but Tweek helped out anyway. The earth here was a little harder to get into, requiring a bit of teamwork between them. For the most part is was quiet, which made Tweek anxious. He cleared his throat, catching Craig’s attention for a moment. The stoic young man slowly raised a brow as Tweek squirmed, trying to find something to say. “I’m…sorry I haven’t been much help…” He swore internally at how lame that had come out.  
  
Craig was quiet for a moment, before he let out a snort. Tweek couldn’t help but notice the faint ghost of a smile tugging at Craig’s lips. He twisted the stick in his hands into the ground. “You’re being helpful right now. I’m pretty sure that’s all that matters.”  
  
“Okay, then, why pick me? Wouldn’t Clyde be a better choice for this?”  
  
He shrugged, grunting as he forced the stick further into the Earth. “Just don’t feel like listening to him complain.”  
  
Tweek paused, bending down to gather the dirt into a mound around the base of the trap. “So…what’s your relationship to Clyde…? You guys seem pretty close…”  
  
He made a small noise, moving on once the stick was secure. “We’re good friends. He’s a good guy and all, but he gets on my nerves sometimes. I don’t think he realizes it when he makes everything about him. Actually, I know he usually doesn’t do it on purpose.” He shoved another stick into the ground. “…He’s a huge crybaby over the stupidest shit, and he doesn’t think before he speaks. We fight, and fuck, he’s an asshole sometimes. But…” Craig stood up straight, trailing off for a moment. “…so am I.” He shrugged a bit. “And I think we’ve both accepted that we’re the only people that wholly accept each other for being that way.”  
  
Tweek was quiet for a long time, watching Craig. The tall young man was still such an enigma to Tweek, full of conflicting information. Sometimes, he thought that Craig was kind of a jerk. Other times, he saw Craig as very kind, almost sweet. But the Craig Tweek saw flip-flopped so often, he wasn’t sure what to make of him. And with this talk, Tweek found himself seeing something else in Craig—loneliness. Even though Craig had said he and Clyde were good friends, something about the way he said it, the dismissive attitude, made Tweek wonder if there was more to the story than Craig was telling him. Even so, the longer Tweek watched Craig, the more he wanted to know, to be let in.  
  
When Craig looked at him with a raised brow, the blond offered him a small smile. “Well, if it means anything…I think you’re pretty great…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See guys? Ike is okay! :3 heheh...hehe. Heh... :3
> 
> Tell you what, I got some GOLDEN comments last chapter. I want to print some of them out and frame them because I just. Yes. Sometimes your comments make me laugh. Regardless, I really love the reception I’ve gotten for this fic, and I’m so glad you guys are staying interested.
> 
> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig and Tweek bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter. Despite having it planned out, this one was just difficult to write. I kept getting distracted and couldn’t focus on it. Sorry for giving you this...crap. You can kind of see where my concentration falters, ick.
> 
> I’m hoping the next chapter will be better.

Dinner that night was nerve wracking for all of them, feeling exposed in the open field. They each kept glancing around, Tweek trying to muffle his frantic squeaks every time they thought they heard something. It didn’t take long for Token to sigh, looking around. “We need to do something.”  
  
Kenny looked up from his food. “What are you talking about?” Almost instantly, they all jumped when they thought they heard a twig snap, Tweek letting out a muffled shriek.  
  
“This,” Token replied. “We can’t spend the night terrified. We’re going to need to get sleep.”  
  
“How is that going to happen?” Stan scoffed. “We have no protection out here, no way to know if something is coming in the dark. How the hell are we supposed to get some sleep?” There was a quiet murmur of agreement among the others.  
  
Token hummed. “Well…what if we had someone stay up? Like, to guard the camp?”  
  
Kenny raised a brow. “What, one person? All night? What if something does happen?”  
  
“Maybe we can do shifts?” Clyde suggested. “That way no one is up all night, everyone gets some sleep.”  
  
“Maybe we should work in pairs,” Stan added. “If whoever is on watch falls asleep, it would be for not. With two people, they can keep each other awake. I think that would be safer for all of us.”  
  
“That’s a good idea,” Token replied with a smile.  
  
“I’ll take first shift,” Craig murmured, setting his empty container for Vienna sausages down. “Who wants to join me?” There was silence as they all looked at each other awkwardly. Craig looked briefly between them. “….fucking really?”  
  
Tweek looked around, chewing his lip and twitching anxiously. He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Ngh! I’ll do it! I’ll stay up with you.”  
  
Craig glanced at Tweek for a moment. The blond twitched under his gaze, unsure what Craig was thinking. Finally, Craig nodded. “Okay. Fine. You and I will take first shift.”  
  
Tweek let out a breath, shoulders relaxing as everyone went back to eating quietly. It wasn’t long after everyone else finished that they went to their respective tents, leaving Tweek and Craig alone. The fire crackled quietly in the silence; Tweek glanced at Craig, listening to the others get comfortable. The silence wasn’t _awful_ , but he found himself uncomfortable. What were they going to do? It wasn’t like they had a lot to talk about…Not to mention, Tweek was pretty sure he made an idiot of himself while they were setting up the traps. So, Tweek said the first thing that rolled off his tongue. “I’m…sorry about your sister.” _Fuck_.  
  
Craig glanced up at Tweek, eyes slightly wide. He had forgotten about his outburst after bringing Tweek to the others. His jaw set, eyes flicking away to settle on the fire in their pit. “…it’s okay.” It wasn’t, Tweek could hear the way Craig’s voice strained. “It’s not like anything could be done…”  
  
Tweek’s brows upturned in concern, before he got up to go sit beside Craig. He stayed quiet for a moment, trying to find the right words. “…Can I ask what happened…?”  
  
He could see the internal debate Craig was having with himself at that question. Craig’s brows furrowed, jaw clenching tightly. His hand came to his mouth, biting at his thumb nail; Tweek could almost see the cogs turning. He opened his mouth to say something, only for Craig to speak. “It’s Clyde’s fault.” Tweek felt his breath catch, letting Craig continue. “If he had just let me go, I could’ve…I could’ve saved her…”

* * *

_“C’mon, move it!” Craig had Tricia by the hand, pulling her along as they ran through the over-run Wal-Mart. Clyde wasn’t far behind, huffing and puffing as he fought to keep up. They had been looking for supplies when they had been overwhelmed. They hadn’t had time to close the backpack Tricia was carrying, their newly gathered food falling out as she ran. She glanced back, making a small noise as she watched another package of food fall out. The brunette took a breath, yanking her hand out of Craig’s hold before running back. “Tricia!”_  
  
_She looked back at him. “I’ll be right back!” She called, grabbing the food they had lost as she ran back where they came. “I don’t want this to be for nothing!”_  
  
_“Tricia!” Craig screamed, ready to run after her. Clyde grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him. “I can’t let her go!”_  
  
_“Craig, she’s plenty capable,” Clyde argued. “She’s your sister, after all, she learned how to defend herself from the best!” He tugged on Craig’s arm. “C’mon!”_  
  
_Craig clenched his jaw, before yanking his arm from Clyde and running. “Tricia!”_  
  
_“Oh god dammit!” Clyde yelled, following quickly. “Craig, wait!”_  
  
_Craig ignored him, looking for Tricia as he ran. She wasn’t in sight, and Craig felt himself start to panic. Where had she gone? She couldn’t have gone far in such a short time, so why couldn’t he find her?! “Tricia!” Almost as if on cue, her voice pierced through the air, terror laced through it. Craig’s blood ran cold, picking up the pace. “TRICIA!” He slid to a stop as he rounded the corner. His heart plummeted into his stomach, breath catching in his throat; his body refused to move, eyes locked on the sight before him._  
  
_Tricia was surrounded by a horde of them, trying to beat them away with her backpack. They had already grabbed her a few times, scratches on her arms and face. Her eyes locked on Craig for a moment, her face skewing into one of determination. “Go!” She screamed, swinging the backpack again._  
  
_“Tricia!”_  
  
_Clyde grabbed Craig’s arm, yanking him back and out of sight before they could turn to them. “Craig, dude, shut up! We’re going to get killed!”_  
  
_“I don’t care! I need to protect my sister!” He pulled, trying to get away. He managed, only to see Tricia get swamped. He couldn’t see her, but he could hear her screaming in pain. Blood was pooling from where he knew she was; he couldn’t breathe, frozen in place. “….Tricia…” he whispered, hands balling into fists. “Fuck…TRICIA!” He moved to run to her, only to have his arms grabbed by Clyde. “No! Fucking—Let me go!”_  
  
_Clyde shook his head, pulling Craig away despite his struggling. Craig kicked and fought against his friend’s hold, screaming for his sister as Clyde tried to drag him off. The last thing he saw of her was her torn body, intestines stretched from her body into the gaping mouths of the creatures. His body went limp as Clyde successfully dragged him away, the image etched into his memory._

* * *

Tweek watched Craig; his hands were balled into tight fists, jaw clenched. He couldn’t see it, but Tweek could tell Craig was trying not to cry; his chullo was doing a good job of hiding his face at the moment. The blond shifted closer, putting his hand on Craig’s back. He felt Craig stiffen under his touch. “…I’m so…so sorry, Craig….” He couldn’t even wrap his mind around it. “That’s…just awful.”  
  
Craig was silent for a moment, trying to pull himself together enough to speak. “…I guess that’s why I have such a short fuse with Clyde…” he managed to mumble, his voice cracking just a tad. “I’ve convinced myself…if he had just let me go…”  
  
Tweek shook his head, hand slipping down Craig’s back. “Craig…even if Clyde _had_ let you go…it sounds like she was beyond saving…” His heart ached as he saw Craig shake his head, not wanting to believe what Tweek was saying. The blond sighed. “You know it’s true, no matter how much you deny it…”  
  
He didn’t reply for a long time, before letting out a heavy sigh, pulling himself together. “…yeah….I know…but it’s just so hard….”  
  
“…I can’t say I know how it feels…” Tweek admitted. That made the taller boy look up at Tweek. It was hard to read his expression, but there was confusion in his eyes. He took a breath, preparing to answer the unspoken question in Craig’s eyes. “When the town was overrun, my parents locked me in the back store room of the coffee shop they run.” There was a pause as he picked at his fingers. “I mean…it was safe…the door was reinforced in metal, and there were no windows….and there was food and water in there…” Shame and embarrassment crept up Tweek’s neck. “…but there wasn’t a bathroom so…I had to make due with what I had…”  
  
Somehow, that was unsettling to Craig. His brows furrowed a bit. “…that’s gross…” he mumbled. “But like…they locked you in there?”  
  
The blond shifted again. “Well…it was for my protection. They said they would join me…”  
  
Craig straightened a bit. “It sounds more like they abandoned you.”  
  
As much as Tweek wanted to argue, he had to admit, it didn’t paint his parents in a good light. Not that they had ever been too attentive to his needs growing up. He had wondered as a child if his parents were neglecting him, but no one had ever addressed his concerns in the small mountain town. No one ever said the people of South Park were good at caring for others. He took a breath, before sighing heavily and hanging his head. “Probably,” he groaned. “They were never the most attentive…most of the time they didn’t seem to notice I was having problems…”  
  
That seemed to resinate with Craig, a spark of understanding coming to his eyes. “…I can get that. My parents weren’t the best role models…” He looked at his hands a bit. “By the time I was three I was flipping people off. That was just how my family communicated. My mom tried, but she just wasn’t interested in really being a _mom_. Once Tricia and I were old enough to take care of ourselves, we were on our own. My dad…” he rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. “He drank. A lot. And most of the time, it ended with my parents fighting. Instead of dealing with it, I just kind of…shut down. It was easier than dealing with things. I just decided that pretending nothing bothered me made me invincible.” He snorted. “It worked for a while. Then it didn’t; but by then I didn’t know what else to do. It had become part of who I was by then.”  
  
The blond hummed, shifting from side to side. “I don’t know if that’s such a bad thing,” he murmured. “I mean…it’s helped you survive this long, hasn’t it? I’d take that over being a twitchy, paranoid freak.”  
  
Craig’s face skewed into one of disbelief. “You’re not a freak.”  
  
“It’s not as bad as it used to be,” he replied, picking at his fingers. “N-not by a long shot.” He paused. “I used to have these tics…constant twitching, screaming, hallucinations…I was always terrified, of anything and everything. I used to think the shadows on my walls at night were monsters, that everyone was replaced by aliens and they were going to get me…” He tugged at his hair, groaning. “It was awful, I was a mess. I mean…I-I’m still a little twitchy, and I get scared easy…but I can _function_ now, which is nice. I-I have a clearer head now, than I used to…”  
  
Craig smiled faintly. “Well that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Especially now, when you need a clear head.”  
  
He blinked a few times, before smiling brightly at Craig. “Yeah…Yeah! You’re right. I-I guess it is!” Somehow, it made Tweek feel a lot better to know that Craig was some sort of happy about this change. He shifted, rocking from one side to the other as he looked into the fire pit. “Heh…I didn’t really think about it before…”  
  
Craig watched the blond, almost looking fond. The two talked for a few hours, before deciding it was well passed time to wake Kenny and Token for the second shift.

* * *

The night went smoothly, the last shift ending with Stan and Kyle. Both were barely awake as the group had a meeting, leaning on each other as they listened. Craig and Tweek sat together, while Kenny paced. “We can’t stay here,” he was saying. “Last night may have been okay, but we aren’t safe. It’s too open.” He paused, shuddering. “It freaks me out.”  
  
“Well,” token began. “We still want to make it to that town, right?”  
  
“Yeah, but it’s still a few days away, isnt it?”  
  
Token nodded. “Two at most. If we head out now we could be there tomorrow night.”  
  
“Easy for you to say,” Kyle grumbled. “Breaking down camp again, and walking all day, it’s exhausting, and you guys all just woke up…” He yawned as if emphasizing his point; Stan quickly covered his mouth as he yawned as well.  
  
“Why don’t we take a day or two to adjust to this schedule?” Clyde suggested with a shrug. “I mean, we can’t be expected to keep moving if we’re tired, right?”  
  
Kenny made a small sound in the back of his throat. “It’s hard to say…We could just be delaying ourselves for no reason.”  
  
“Then you take the last watch, dude,” Stan groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Give us a day or two, you take the last shift, and then we can go.”  
  
Kenny sighed, hands on his hips. “Is everyone else okay with that?” There were murmurs of agreement. “Alright. We’ll go in two days. You two get some sleep, but don’t sleep all day.”  
  
Kyle got up, stretching; Stan flopped onto his back in the dirt, ready to just pass out right there. The red head looked to Tweek. “Tweek, could you help me take a look at Ike’s bite…?”  
  
The blond blinked as he looked up at Kyle, nodding faintly as he got up and followed the redhead to the tent, where Ike had just been listening to everything. Ike offered his brother a small smile; Tweek gathered the first aid and sat down, unwrapping the bandage while Kyle spoke to his brother. “How is everything?” He asked, taking one of Ike’s hands and massaging at it. “Any changes?”  
  
“Uh, well…” Ike looked up at the roof of the tent, as if choosing his words carefully. “I have feeling still. But like…my hands and feet are all tingly, like when your foot falls asleep and it’s all pins and needles. But I can still feel, I guess?”  
  
Kyle’s breath hitched a bit, trying to keep himself together as he carefully squeezed various parts of Ike’s hand. “I see…” He looked to Tweek. “How is it…?”  
  
Tweek chewed his lip, glancing down at the bite. It…wasn’t pretty. It was heavily inflamed, but at least it wasn’t all dead. He took a breath, cleaning the wound. He apologized a little when Ike flinched. “It’s…okay, I guess? Like…it’s not as bad as it could be?”  
  
“W-well…” Kyle took a breath, blinking back tears. “It’s going to be okay.” It was obvious that he was saying it more for himself than Ike; Ike looked like he had resigned to his fate and was just taking it in stride. Kyle stroked his baby brother’s hair, letting Tweek finish up the bandages. “Don’t worry.”  
  
“I’m not,” Ike replied. “I know you’ll take care of me, Kyle.”  
  
Kyle’s breath hitched as he pulled away, getting up and leaving the tent. It wasn’t long after Tweek followed him out that Kyle completely broke down. Stan was fast asleep, but Kenny was quickly at Kyle’s side. His arms wrapped around Kyle, holding him close. His own face was pained as he listened to the red head, knowing the pain. “He’s going to turn…!” Kyle choked, hands clutching at Kenny’s shirt. “He’s going to turn and there’s _nothing_ I can do to stop it…!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IDK what to put here for this chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay. With the holidays, it got a bit hecktic and I didn’t have much time to write. I’m also sick, so I hope this isn’t too terrible.

The next few days were uneventful. They spent time resting, preparing for the trek to the town. Things had calmed down a bit with Kyle, though his anxiety was still quite palpable. Craig and Tweek spent a lot of time near each other, helping out and just getting to know each other. The more they talked, the calmer Tweek felt around Craig; He still wasn’t sure how to read him, but he enjoyed being around him none the less. When they finally did break camp, they found Token had been right about their ETA. It had taken them two full days; Kenny somehow still managed to be in high spirits and help with Ike, even though he got the least amount of sleep in the group. Tweek thought it was rather impressive.  
  
Upon arriving to the town, they weren’t surprised to find it eerily silent. They were quiet as they moved. Craig and Kenny had guns drawn, while Clyde kept his machete at the ready. Tweek had Craig’s bat, but he wasn’t nearly as confidant as they seemed to be; he still held it up, ready to swing. Stan adjusted his hold on Ike, pulling Kyle close to his side as they kept an eye out for anything. Token peeked into various buildings as they walked passed, making mental notes of where they could get some supplies. Surprisingly, there didn’t seem to be any sort of threat on the streets. As they reached the middle of town, they all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.  
  
“Well, we’re here,” Craig mumbled, keeping his voice down just in case. “Now what?”  
  
“Now we should find any supplies we can,” Token replied in kind. “We need new weapons, ammunition, medical supplies…”  
  
“There’s got to be a police station,” Stan grunted, carefully shifting Ike. “We’d find weapons and ammo there, if it hasn’t been cleaned out.”  
  
“Probably has,” Craig replied. “Other than a gun shop, that would be the first place I would look for weapons.” He paused, thinking it over. “But it’s worth a shot. If nothing else, we can probably camp out there for the night.”  
  
“Or for a while,” Clyde added. “It might be nice to have a safe place to stay. Where we don’t have to constantly be on alert.” There was a small murmuring of agreement through the group. “Did anyone see anything on the way here…?”  
  
Ike raised his hand from Stan’s shoulder. “I’ve got a higher vantage point. I think I saw something that could have been a police station? It was all brick, and there were bars on the windows.”  
  
“That could have been it,” Kyle agreed, patting Ike’s back gently in praise. “Good job, Ike. Where was it?”  
  
“It’s not far,” he replied, twisting around a bit to look behind him. “Just that way a block, then we take a right. You can see it from this street if you’re looking for it.”  
  
“That’s where we’ll go then,” Craig replied with a nod. “Good looking out, kid.” Ike beamed in pride, hanging on as Stan turned around, the group heading back the way they came. Sure enough, Ike had been correct. The only problem was, the door was locked. “Well, that was a bust.”  
  
“Not so fast,” Kenny replied, untying the jacket from his waist and tossing it to Kyle. He looked up the building, tongue sticking out just a bit as he seemed to calculate something. The blond then took a breath. “This ain’t gonna be easy,” he grumbled, cracking his knuckles. “Be ready to bandage my fingers later.” Without any warning, he ran toward the nearby brick wall. He successfully scaled up it a few steps, hands latching on to the divets in the brick where the grout had crumbled.  
  
“Oh for fuck’s sake McCormick!” Craig hissed, watching with a mix of irritation and amazement.  
  
Kenny ignored him, climbing up the walls of the police station and grunting as he went. Tweek and Kyle both went under Kenny, just in case he fell; he was plenty competent, but they didn’t need another injury. They both let out a sigh when Kenny managed to push himself onto the roof. “Hang tight guys,” he called to them. “I’ll be down in a second!” And then he was out of sight.  
  
Craig sighed heavily. Stan pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan. “Fucking Kenny,” he grumbled.  
  
“Where did he learn to climb like that?” Clyde asked, the amazement clear in his voice. “That was so _cool_!”  
  
“He could have fell!” Tweek squeaked. “He could have fallen and cracked his head open!”  
  
“But he didn’t,” Token pointed out. “He made it up, and he probably found a hatch or something to let him in from up there. Some older buildings have stuff like that.”  
  
“And at a police station, it wouldn’t be unlikely,” Kyle mused. “It would be a good way for officers to get into position for an aerial assault in the case of a riot or something…”  
  
“A riot?!” Tweek squeaked, chewing his lip. “Do you really think that happened?”  
  
The red head shrugged. “I mean…maybe? I don’t know this town, but any smart place would have something like that just in case, right?”  
  
“You’d think,” Craig mumbled, going back to the door and shaking it again. Still locked. He looked for a break in the windows; finding a broken window he hollered “Hurry the fuck up, McCormick!” There was a disgruntled mimic from inside that signified Kenny had heard him. Kyle and Stan snickered at the sound, taking great pleasure in Kenny’s antics.  
  
Luckily it didn’t take much longer for Kenny to get the front doors of the station open. He threw them open dramatically, bowing low. “Sorry for the wait, _ladies_ , but I found a generator I was trying to kick on, and managed to get us some electricity.” That was a pleasant surprise they all commented on as they came in; Craig wasted no time flipping Kenny off as he came in. The station was a disaster of papers and flipped desks, but for the most part, it looked pretty safe. Once everyone was inside, Kenny locked the doors again.  
  
Craig took a good look at everything, cogs in his head turning as he took in all the information available to him. “We should look for the armory. Stan, you and Kenny are in charge of that.” Stan nodded as he put Ike down in a nearby chair. “Token and I will do a thorough examination of the place. There’s probably emergency supplies somewhere for blackouts and such.”  
  
“I’m going to look for a bathroom,” Clyde announced. “Pretty sure everyone could use a real bathroom.” There was a small murmur of agreement, before Clyde scampered off.  
  
As the others set off for their tasks, Kyle and Tweek were left with Ike. Ike was rather calm about everything, using his good leg to push himself around in the wheeled chair Stan had set him in, causing Kyle to have to chase after him. While Ike’s situation still seemed grim, Tweek had to admit, he was impressed with the smile that still danced on Ike’s lips. He acted as if nothing had happened, and it was encouraging. Tweek smiled softly. “You’re really strong,” he murmured, though he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.  
  
Ike and Kyle both paused, looking up at Tweek, who instantly shrunk back. Ike blinked a few times, before his playful grin slowly faded into a sad one. “Some one has to be,” he commented, allowing Kyle to come over and run a hand through his hair. “Everyone is so worried…someone has to be a light in such dark times.” He glanced up at his brother; Kyle’s jaw was clenched tightly. “Isn’t that right?” Kyle gave him a stiff nod; satisfied with that, Ike looked back to the blond. “There’s no point in feeling sorry for myself, that would just bring everyone else down.”  
  
Tweek thought about that for a moment. He had to admit, Ike was right. Despite everything, Ike and Kenny had been the ones to keep everyone’s spirits up. Their situation wasn’t the most ideal, but they were surviving; none of them were alone, they had each other. That was something that they were all taking for granted. He opened his mouth to say something, only to hear Clyde yell from another room. The sound startled the three; Tweek shrieked, while Kyle and Ike instantly held on to each other. The others came running, all ready for a fight, just as Clyde came running with a huge grin on his face.  
  
“What the fuck was that about?!” Craig yelled, pissed at the smile on Clyde’s face.  
  
“HOT WATER!”  
  
There was a pause. “…what?”  
  
Clyde’s eyes were practically sparkling, his smile never leaving his face. “We have hot water! And _running showers_! Do you know what this means?!”  
  
There was a pause as the rest of the group slowly looked at each other. Smiles slowly crept onto their faces, before there was a burst of energy through them all. Stan and Kyle scooped up Ike, as everyone ran back to where Clyde had been, all in various degrees of undress.  
  
It was like an old locker room, with several shower heads in an open communal shower. Clyde had them all running, letting steam fill the shower quickly. Any shame the guys had disappeared at the promise of their first hot shower in weeks, maybe even months. Kenny was first under a shower head, practically sliding across the tile floor with a victory whoop, though Token wasn’t far behind. Clyde was under another, running his hands through his now wet hair and making particularly obscene noises in bliss. Tweek had been the one to remember to grab their bag of soap and shampoos they had raided periodically, sliding them across the floor to people; he had been the most recent addition and felt he needed the shower the least. As he glanced around, he noticed it was the first time he had seen Stan, Kyle, or Craig without their hats on, but that seemed like a silly notion considering everyone was naked as the day they were born.  
  
He had been about to excuse himself when he felt a hand on his head. He glanced up to see Kenny smiling down at him, hair matted over his face. The fellow blond pushed the wet hair from his face, grin devilish. “C’mon, Tweeky, you too.” He didn’t even give Tweek a chance to reply, stripping him and shoving him under one of the steady streams of hot water. Almost instantly, the tense muscles in Tweek’s back and shoulders started to melt, a small whimper leaving him as the water cascaded down his skin.  
  
He took a moment to adjust, letting out a squeak when he suddenly felt fingers in his hair and massaging his scalp. “It’s just me,” came the bored, nasally voice he had grown so accustomed to. He chanced a glance back at Craig; for the first time, he looked relaxed, a faint spark in his eyes that Tweek hadn’t seen before. He felt his cheeks grow hot, but turned away quickly. He could blame it on the hot water, right? That was a believable enough lie. Still, Craig’s long fingers massaging at his scalp felt so damn good, Tweek quickly found himself leaning into it, eyes fluttering closed. The echos of the others soon faded off into a dull roar, all of Tweek’s senses focused on the hot water and Craig’s presence. It was the most at ease Tweek had felt in a long, long time. Craig seemed to catch on, dealing with Tweek with an odd sort of gentleness as he gently coaxed Tweek under the water to rinse his hair out.

* * *

After spending probably more time then they probably should have in the showers, the rest of the group congregated back in the main office of the station. It was the most at ease they had all been, all smiles and leaning on each other as they relished their warmth. Kyle’s curls were temporarily tamed, still weighed down from the water dripping from them. Kenny and Token were passing out blankets they had found, everyone getting comfortable for the night.  
  
“I vote we stay here,” Clyde mused, yawning. Now that he was warm and clean, he was sleepy. “This is the safest place we’ve had in a long time…and we have hot water!”  
  
“And we found a tiny kitchen,” Token added. “We can actually heat food up properly, possibly even cook if we can find things.”  
  
“Probably the best we’ve got,” Craig murmured in agreement, yawning as he leaned on Tweek, who leaned back. “Anyone disagree?” At the silence, he nodded. “That settles it. We’re staying here until further notice.” There was a collective sigh of relief from the group.  
  
Kenny gently waved Tweek over to him and Kyle; Stan had laid down and passed out. Now that the shower was over, it occurred to them all that Ike needed to change his wet bandages. Tweek came over without a word, making Craig grumble when his pillow had moved. The blond smiled tiredly, pulling the first aid over while Kenny started cutting the bandaging off with care. But the sight of the wound set things back into perspective, the tense air returning to the three.  
  
The skin around the wound was obviously decaying, having turned ashen and black. The infection of the wound was festering, making the wound smell and puss clearly visible. Tweek fought back the urge to puke, and Kyle’s previous relaxed smile faded quickly. Kenny clicked his tongue. “This is…not good.”  
  
“No shit,” Kyle hissed. “What do we do?”  
  
He sighed. “Well…he needs stitches. And…obviously what antibiotics we have aren’t cutting it.” He was quiet for a moment, cleaning the wound without even flinching. “…I saw a hospital not far from here. Maybe…maybe a few of us can go look for supplies there. We don’t have anything for stitches, which we should anyway…maybe we can get stronger antibiotics or…something. I mean, if we’re really honest, he probably needs a blood transfusion too, but we don’t have a good source for that…none of us are phlebotomists, we’d end up hurting him more than helping him, assuming we could get blood….”  
  
“Whatever we can do,” Kyle whispered. “I can’t lose him.”  
  
“You won’t lose me,” Ike told him, forcing a smile. It was painful to watch. “I’ll be okay. You guys are taking really good care of me.”  
  
“….How’s the feeling?”  
  
Ike hummed, flexing his hands. “…can’t really feel my fingers and toes anymore. But that’s okay.”  
  
Kyle’s eyes fixated on Kenny. “Where’s the hospital?”  
  
“A few of us will go in the morning,” Kenny told him, trying to calm Kyle down. “We all need sleep; this is probably going to be the best sleep we’ve all had in weeks.” He glanced around. “…Stan, Tweek and I will go first thing in the morning. I promise.” He reached out, cupping Kyle’s face. “…Is that good enough for now?”  
  
Kyle took a breath, leaning his face into Kenny’s touch. His eyes flicked from Kenny, to Tweek, and back to Kenny. “…fine…” his voice shook. “That’s all we can do, right…?”  
  
“For now, yes,” Kenny replied quietly. “We’ll get everything we can tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter, and has some filler, but I felt like a moment of calm would be good for these guys, especially given what’s coming up. Next chapter is going to be a bit tense lol.
> 
> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a Hospital raid

“Let me go instead of Tweek.”  
  
When Kenny made the announcement the next morning about the hospital, most had agreed to the assigned team. Stan was Kyle’s boyfriend, and had no problem going to get supplies that could potentially prolong Ike’s life, and Tweek was resourceful. The only one who seemed to have an issue was Craig. Kenny waved his hands casually, trying to placate him. “Now, Craig, you need to stay here,” he tried to reason. “You’re our unofficial leader and easily one of the strongest here—”  
  
“Even more reason why I should be the one going,” he tried to argue.  
  
“—We can’t have 3 of our strongest all away from camp.” Kenny paused, letting that sink in. “If you swapped with Tweek and something were to happen, that would leave Clyde being the strongest here, while Kyle and probably Tweek protected Ike.” He glanced to the only black man of the group. “Token is good, but he isn’t as strong as, say, you. Having you, _and_ Clyde helps ensure the safety of the remaining party a lot more.” He glanced at Token. “No offense, dude.”  
  
“None taken.”  
  
Kenny held his breath. He wasn’t sure if what he said was true, or if he was just blowing smoke out of his ass, but it seemed to work as Craig started to back down a bit. The blond physically relaxed. “We’ll take good care of Tweekers, Tucker. I promise.”  
  
Craig tensed up for a moment, only to sigh heavily, his shoulders going slack. He looked to Tweek, who was emptying out one of their backpacks so they could collect any supplies they found at the hospital. As if a second thought, he walked over and knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “…You’re going to be okay?”  
  
Tweek glanced up at Craig, twitching faintly. “Uh, uhm…” he glanced down at the now empty backpack. “I-I think so? I mean…Kenny and Stan are pretty strong, right…?”  
  
He hummed. “They’re quick, but I wouldn’t say strong…”  
  
“I heard that,” Stan called from where he was being mothered by Kyle.  
  
Craig rolled his eyes. “…Well, I guess they’re strong enough…they’ve lasted this long…” He was quiet for a moment. “I still want you to take my bat. Just in case. You can’t rely on others to keep you safe…” He helped Tweek secure the backpack. “…because in the end, when push comes to shove, it’s every man for himself out there…”  
  
Tweek blinked up at Craig, eyes slightly wide. “…I don’t think Kenny or Stan would leave me…” he murmured.  
  
Kenny slid over, wrapping an arm around Tweek’s shoulders. “Of course not. I’m not letting anyone get left behind, not if I can do anything about it. I’ll bring him back in one piece, Tucker.” He winked knowingly, making Craig’s face skew, a faint pink dusting his cheeks and the tips of his ears. That made Kenny chuckle, only to be shoved by Craig. The taller blond pulled Tweek away toward the front door, bat in hand. “C’mon, Stan! Enough making out with your boyfriend!”  
  
Stan and Kyle let out strangled cries, their faces comical shades of red. Kyle huffed, tugging Stan’s hat more securely on his head and handing him their modified 9mm. Stan mumbled something to Kyle, giving him a quick peck before sheepishly going to join Kenny and Tweek. The taller blond started to unlock the front station door, letting them outside as Clyde came to lock the door behind them.  
  
The trek to the hospital wasn’t long; they could see the large building from the station, and it really wasn’t all that far. Despite not seeing anything along the way, they kept quiet, only whispering to each other when absolutely necessary. The hospital doors were easy to get into, the main lobby littered in what looked like medical files and disemboweled corpses. Tweek let out a quiet whimper, swallowing thickly when he felt Kenny’s hand on his back. “Stay calm, Tweeky,” Kenny whispered, carefully guiding them through the mess, keeping his ears open for any sort of sound. “As long as we steer clear of any populated areas, we’ll be fine.”  
  
“P-populated areas…?” he squeaked, giving Kenny an incredulous look.  
  
“Well, it is a hospital,” Stan mumbled, shifting closer to them both. “There’s no doubt that there was probably an outbreak here…those that were too weak to be transferred were probably left behind to change, or die….” That was…a very real, but very sad thought to Tweek. He made a small, sad sound at the thought. “They probably secluded those to certain areas. At least, that’s what I would think…”  
  
“So far, it seems that your theory would be right,” Kenny replied quietly. He ducked behind a nurse’s station, rifling through it for anything of use, like a map. “I mean, we haven’t run into anything living. Or…undead, I guess?” He made a small sound of success when he found a map, snagging a pen from the top of the desk. He marked where they had already been, humming softly to himself. Stan stood guard, looking around carefully. Kenny finally stood up, whistling and holding up the map. “Alright, I got a few places we’re going to check out, and we’ll mark down any places to avoid. Sound good?”  
  
“Good enough,” Stan replied, glancing over Kenny’s shoulder to take a look. “So…we’re here…next location is down the hall that way?”  
  
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Kenny mused. “There should be a supply room down that way. Not sure what supplies exactly, but I’m sure we could use whatever we find there. Then we’ll head upstairs and go from there.”  
  
Tweek glanced between them, then down the hallway Stan had gestured to. Something about the stillness set him on edge. He swallowed thickly. “…m…maybe someone should stay here…?”  
  
“We aren’t splitting up,” Stan told him. “We’re safer together.”  
  
“Besides,” Kenny chuckled. “Craig would kill me if he found out we split up. Kyle too, actually.” He winked at his companions. “I promised to bring you both back in one piece, and I’m going to do just that. We’ll stick together.” He hooked an arm around each of them, giving both Stan and Tweek a squeeze before he started to lead them off to their next destination. The area they raided was filled with, mostly, bandaging and prescriptions. It took them a bit longer than they would have liked to find what they could use; it didn’t help that most of it they had no idea what it was.  
  
While Kenny and Tweek were raiding the storage closet, Stan stepped aside to a nurse station to look through things. He made a small sound of success, grinning. “Hey guys! I found a radio!”  
  
Kenny jumped up from the floor, startling Tweek. “ _Seriously_?!” The blond scrambled over, tripping over himself to snatch up the radio. He looked it over. “…We need batteries, but I’m pretty damn sure it’ll work.” He handed it to Stan with a grin. “We’ll take it with us. Token can probably get it working. Maybe we’ll find someone else! Maybe someone that can help us!”  
  
Stan raised a brow, but smiled a bit. “You’re sure confidant,” he replied quietly, taking the radio from Kenny as they went back to the storage room. “You’re always talking about people being out there…”  
  
Kenny looked back at him, a sad smile on his face. “Well I mean…the country is huge. We can’t be the only ones alive. That would be stupid, right?” He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. “We can’t be the last eight people alive. It doesn’t work that way. It can’t.” Something in Kenny’s voice made both Stan and Tweek’s blood run cold. “It can’t work like that.”  
  
Tweek hesitantly stood up, taking the radio from Stan and putting it in the bag before he put his hand on Kenny’s shoulder. “I mean…you’re probably right…” Tweek mumbled. “There…there’s got to be someone else out there…” He looked at Stan. “R-right?”  
  
“…Right….yeah, you’re probably right…” Stan tried to smile at Kenny, tried to banish the pained emotions that danced on the edges of Kenny’s face. “We’ll find someone else out there, and we’ll get out of this shithole.” He clapped a hand on Kenny’s back, forcing a smile and tugging him away from the storage room. “C’mon, let’s see what else we can find and get out of here.”

* * *

They wandered through the hospital for what could have been hours. They went through the halls, avoiding areas that seemed to be populated, going up the floors as necessary. They had agreed it was about time to go, when they came across the Intensive care unit. The doors to the ICU were chained shut. Kenny licked his lips a bit. “…I’d bet there’s some killer stuff in there,” he whispered.  
  
Tweek made an uncertain noise, shifting a bit closer to Kenny. “K-Kenny, I’ve got a bad feeling..w-we shouldn’t try to go in there…”  
  
“But we could find some really useful things,” the other blond argued. “Probably a lot of things to help Ike, even.”  
  
“Or we could _die_!” Tweek hissed, yanking on Kenny’s arm. “C’mon, please? L-Let’s just go…!”  
  
Kenny shrugged Tweek off, carefully undoing the chains that had barred the doors to the ICU shut. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” he replied. Stan stepped back, holding Tweek away from the door as he pointed the 9mm with a slightly shaky hand. The two held their breath as Kenny slowly opened the door; the doors creaked low, making them all flinch and brace themselves. Distantly, they could hear the growls and gurgles of the shambling undead. They stood stiff, listening; when nothing seemed to be coming their way, they started to creep in to the ICU.  
  
Stan stuck behind Tweek, keeping an eye on their safety from behind; the last thing they needed was to have something sneak up behind them. Kenny led their way through, occasionally snagging useful items to hand to Tweek. He maneuvered them around groups of dead nurses and patients, before they came across the largest group they had seen. There was no safe way across. But from where they were, Kenny could see an open closet of supplies. What caught his eye was what looked like full, abandoned IV bags. His breath caught, glancing back at the other two. Tweek shook his head frantically, mouthing “no” as he clung to Kenny’s shirt. Kenny carefully removed Tweek’s hand, looking up at Stan, who gave him an incredulous look.  
  
“You two need to head back,” Kenny whispered. “Get those supplies back to the others.”  
  
“We aren’t leaving you,” Stan hissed, probably louder than he really should have. “We stick together, remember?”  
  
“Do you see a way through this?” Kenny asked, jerking his head toward the crowd. “I can do this. I’m faster than both of you, and stealthy as hell on my own.” He pointed at Tweek’s bag. “You need to ensure that these supplies get back to Ike and the others. I will follow you; in and out, I promise.”  
  
Tweek covered his mouth to muffle a small whine. He shook his head fiercely. “Kenny, we can’t just leave you!”  
  
The taller blond smiled softly, ruffling Tweek’s hair. “I’ll be okay, I promise.” He glanced between the two. “…Please, guys. Get these to the others. Even if something does happen to me, at least they’ll have this stuff.”  
  
Tweek looked at Stan, who sighed heavily, before nodding. He grabbed Tweek by the arm and started pulling him back the way they came. Kenny waved, only turning away as they rounded the corner. It didn’t take long for Stan and Tweek to get out of the hospital, both of them running as fast as their legs could carry them. When they were outside, Tweek let out a strangled cry, looking back at the hospital. “We can’t leave him!”  
  
Stan skidded to a halt, looking back at Tweek. “Tweek, he’s right, we have to get this stuff back to the others.”  
  
The blond looked at Stan, arm stretched back at the hospital. “But he said we wouldn’t split up! We can’t—“  
  
“He said he would follow us!” Stan was shaking, his hands balled into fists. “He promised he would meet back up with us. We have to trust him.” He took a shaky breath. “I trust Kenny. Do you?”  
  
Tweek’s breath caught in his throat for a moment. Did he trust Kenny? Of course he did. Kenny had been at his side, had been protecting him and including him since day one. Kenny was kind, he was protective. He took a breath, before nodding. “…I do. I trust Kenny…”  
  
“Then we have to get back to the base,” he pressed. Stan took a breath, before he started to run for the station again. Tweek glanced at the hospital, before following behind him quickly. He still felt a little sick leaving Kenny behind, but he needed to trust him. It didn’t take them long to get back; Stan whistled their little tune when they were outside, and it was only a few beats before the door unlocked and slid open.  
  
They had barely managed to get inside when Kyle threw himself at Stan, arms wrapped around his neck in relief. Craig wasn’t far behind, checking Tweek over to make sure he was okay. “Thank fuck you’re alright…” Kyle murmured into Stan’s shoulder. “I was getting really worried, you guys were taking forever…” He backed up to look at Stan, only to pause as he looked between the two. “…Stan? Where’s Kenny?”  
  
Stan licked his lips, glancing away as he tried to find the right words. “He’s…he’s on his way.”  
  
“Stan…”  
  
“He’s still at the hospital,” Tweek blurted out. “He told us to get back…”  
  
“And you _listened_ to him?!” Kyle practically screamed, looking at Stan with a fire in his eyes. “Are you fucking _crazy_? What if he dies in there? You were all supposed to stay together!”  
  
Stan lifted his hands, placating, as he tried to find the words to explain. “Kyle, dude, listen to me—“  
  
“You left him to die!”  
  
“Kyle, you need to calm down!”  
  
“ _I AM CALM!_ ”  
  
“He wanted us to bring what we had!” Stan was trying to speak over Kyle’s yelling. “He wanted to be sure that something got back here for Ike! If we all stayed and something serious happened, we would have no supplies! It would have been for nothing!”  
  
“A-And Stan found a radio!” Tweek yelled, trying to help Stan out.  
  
The station went silent. “…Wait,” Craig began. “He what?”  
  
Tweek blinked up at Craig. “H-he found a radio,” he repeated, peeling the backpack off. He dug through it, pulling it out. “I-it needs batteries, Kenny said…but he said it should work.” There was a long silence, before Token reached for it. Clyde scampered off to find some batteries. Tweek handed the radio over, watching as Kyle’s face lit up at the prospect of reaching others.  
  
“It’s a bit beat up,” Token mused, sitting at one of the desks and fiddling with it. “But as long as batteries are all it needs, this could be a gold mine.”  
  
Craig mussed Tweek’s hair almost affectionately. “Great job.”  
  
The blond giggled a little. “I-I can’t take credit. I just carried it. Stan found it.”  
  
“Good job, Marsh. You did something useful.”  
  
“Fuck you, Tucker,” Stan replied, the two flipping each other off while Kyle went to help Clyde look for batteries.  
  
Tweek slowly let out a sigh, glad that Kyle had stopped yelling at them. He looked at Craig. “I didn’t want to leave,” he whispered to him. “But he…he wanted us to be safe…he said he would catch up, that he was faster alone…”  
  
“It’s okay, Tweek,” Craig told him, hand on Tweek’s shoulder. “If Kenny said he will be back…then he probably will be. He’s gone off on little missions on his own a few times and always came back.” Course, Craig was never sure about how Kenny managed it.  
  
It wasn’t long until Token got the radio running, the white noise of static filling the station. The others cheered, before surrounding Token and the radio at the desk he’d settled at. He shifted through various wavelengths, looking for something, anything. He spoke into it occasionally, hoping they would get an answer.  
  
There was a loud thump, making Tweek scream and everyone jerk. Craig instantly turned around toward the sound and fired his pistol. Tweek’s breath caught in his throat, Craig’s face paled as he dropped the gun. Kyle’s voice screaming “ _OH FUCK_ ” filled Tweek’s ears.  
  
Kenny stood there, eyes wide and locked on the group. He looked down; his white shirt was quickly stained red from the wound in his chest. Everything went in slow motion after that. He looked up slowly, a cough leaving him and blood painting his lips. His legs gave out, body crumpling to the floor.  
  
_Instant panic._ Clyde ran for the first aid. Stan and Kyle both ran to Kenny’s side. Tweek wasn’t far behind them, breaths coming in frantic puffs. He’d never actually seen someone get shot before, and now he was pretty sure he was about to watch someone die. Stan was patting at Kenny’s face, trying to keep the blond’s eyes focused. “Stay with me, dude, it’s going to be okay, you’re going to be fine.”  
  
“That’s a clean shot to the heart,” Clyde told them, coming over. Kyle grabbed bandages and started applying pressure to the wound. “There’s no way he can survive that, he’s going to die, guys!”  
  
“Oh my god,” Stan whispered. He spun around to look at Craig, jaw clenched. “You killed Kenny!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOPS. 
> 
> This is the moment when I wonder who has been paying attention to Kenny and what he says/does. ;D 
> 
> In other news, if any of you have a tumblr, feel free to follow me for updates(And to spread this story like wildfire) My username is chxsing-stxrdust and I’m posting little updates here and there. I may also(Eventually) post some art there for this story, but I haven’t decided yet.
> 
> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOO! Sorry this is so late my dudes! I had con to go to, then I got horribly sick, then I had another idea begging to be written, and I couldn’t get this chapter done because of it all! If anyone is a fan of the ship Bunny, I just started a new fic titled “Maybe Working Alone Wasn’t the Best Idea,” featuring Mysterion and Professor Chaos! It’s gonna be a wild ride, so check it out!
> 
> Anyway, sorry for leaving you guys high and dry for so long! I’m going to try to alternate between posting for this and my other one, so they both get written. Admittedly, this fic IS easier to write for. I cranked this chapter out in a few hours lol. But here you guys go!

_“YOU BASTARD!”_  
  
Craig stood there, eyes wide and staring at the sight in front of him. He struggled to find words, strangled sounds leaving his throat. Stan took over trying to keep Kenny alive, pressing down in a steady rhythm to try and keep Kenny’s heart pumping. Kyle had rounded on Craig, Kenny’s blood on his hands from trying to stop the bleeding. “I…I didn’t mean to,” Craig finally blurted. “It was an accident, I…I thought something got in—“  
  
“That’s why you _LOOK_ before you _SHOOT_!” Kyle screamed, grabbing Craig by the front of his hoodie and shaking him. Tears streamed down his face, cheeks red in anger. “You’ve fucking killed him! You’re a fucking murderer, Craig!”  
  
“Back off, Kyle!” Clyde yelled, trying to pry the two apart. “It was an accident! Kenny should have alerted us with the whistle!”  
  
“Don’t blame Kenny!” The red head yelled, rounding on Clyde as he shoved Craig away from him with enough force to make him stumble back into Token.  
  
“Kyle!” Stan looked up at his boyfriend, panic clear in his eyes. “He’s trying to say something, get over here!”  
  
Kyle quickly returned to Kenny, nearly knocking Tweek over in the process. “Kenny?”  
  
The blond was barely conscious. His eyes were glazed over, a strained strangled sound leaving his throat as he tried to speak. “H…hurts….”  
  
“Kenny, stay with me, we…we can fix this!” Kyle stammered, cupping Kenny’s face briefly. It was a lie. Nothing could fix this.  
  
“Don’t die on us dude, we need you!” Stan begged, still doing compressions in a feeble attempt to keep the blond alive. “C’mon buddy…!”  
  
Kenny wheezed, coughing and choking on blood. “Remember…” he gasped out. “…what I told you…” He gasped for air a few times, before his few movements stilled. What light had remained in his eyes faded, staring blankly into the ceiling. The last bit of air that had been in his lungs was pressed from his body with Stan’s compressions, making the man stop.  
  
“…Kenny…?” Stan’s voice sounded so small. His lip trembled as he looked down at his now unresponsive body. “…No…dude, no…” His voice shook, hand coming to cover his mouth as he fought to keep it together.  
  
“God _dammit_ …” the red head took a shaky breath, before forcing himself to his feet. “This is all your fucking fault, Tucker!” He scrambled up with a shout, charging at Craig. Craig braced himself just in time, barely keeping himself standing as Kyle barreled into him with all his weight.  
  
_Chaos_. Almost instantly, it seemed like everyone was yelling. Token was trying to diffuse the situation, Clyde was screaming for Kyle to get off Craig. Stan had managed to get up and was barely holding himself together, feebly yelling for Kyle to stop making everything worse. The red head wasn’t listening, angrily taking swings at Craig. He landed a fair few, but Craig was defending himself to the best of his ability.  
  
Tweek, on the other hand, stayed out of it. His mind was still reeling from everything he had just witnessed. He stumbled to Kenny’s side, slumping onto his knees beside the corpse of his friend. He couldn’t fathom the fact that he had just watched someone die. Even more so, that they had been killed by someone else he trusted. He faintly glanced toward where Kyle and Craig were fighting, not really registering it, before looking back at Kenny. Kenny wouldn’t have wanted this…he had always been the one to diffuse these situations. Tweek swallowed thickly, leaning over to close Kenny’s eyes gently. As if a second thought, he took his sleeve and wiped the blood from Kenny’s lips as well. That looked a little better. He jumped when he heard a loud crash, turning to see half of a lamp in Kyle’s hands. Token and Stan were getting involved now, Stan trying to pull the broken lamp from Kyle’s hand while Craig kept yelling that it was an accident. Tweek believed it had been an accident, but it still shouldn’t have happened to begin with. He took a shuddered breath, looking back to Kenny’s body.  
  
_Wait…what?_ Tweek’s eyes widened, locking on Kenny’s chest. Movement. There was _MOVEMENT_. It was almost like he was convulsing, like he was trying to breathe. Tweek’s blood ran cold, a small whimper leaving him. What was he supposed to do? What was happening? Oh god, _was Kenny turning into one of those things?!_ He let out a squeak, frantically looking from Kenny’s body, to the others, and back. “Guys…!” His voice wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the yelling of the others. “Grr…you _guys_ …! Hey…!” He let out a whine, frantically looking back at the corpse. The convulsions were becoming more frantic. Tweek half screamed, turning and waving his arms in a sorry attempt to get someone’s attention. “You guys! There’s—! Guys!!!”  
  
“Kinda busy, Tweek!” Clyde called, holding Craig back. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“Gnnnngh!! I THINK KENNY IS TURNING!!!!!”  
  
The whole room fell into a panicked silence, every head turning in their direction. Tweek too looked at the body, just in time to see Kenny’s eyes snap open. The…dead?...blond gasped loudly, his chest heaving upwards at the action, before he sat up and coughed harshly into his hands. He spit up the blood that had been sitting in his mouth and throat, before shaking his head like a dog. “Whoo!” His voice was a little rough. “That was a doozy. Can’t say I’ve done that one before.”  
  
There was a long silence as everyone stared in various degrees of disbelief. Stan slowly mumbled something about how he hadn’t had alcohol in months, that he couldn’t be hallucinating. “We can’t _all_ be hallucinating,” Token told him. “Because we’re _all_ seeing this.”  
  
“K-Kenny…?” Kyle slowly asked. “Are you…really alive…?”  
  
“In the flesh,” he replied, a big grin on his face. He grunted as he got to his feet. “Tell you what, I was not prepared for that one.”  
  
“ _How are you even alive?_ ” Tweek shrieked from the floor, effectively asking the question on everyone’s minds.  
  
The blond waved a hand casually. “I’ll explain in a minute. I wanna clean my shirt before it stains.”  
  
“I _shot_ you!” Craig yelled. “We watched you _die_!”  
  
“I told you guys before.” He smiled, but he looked exhausted. “I can’t die. I wasn’t just saying that to be macho, ya know…”  
  
There was a long pause, before a small whimper from Stan broke the silence. The tears he had been holding back were starting to come out, this time out of disbelief and relief. When Kenny held his arms out to him, he wasted no time going to hug him tightly, making Kenny wheeze a little. Kyle wasn’t far behind, hugging them both and kissing Kenny’s temple. Slowly, everyone else started to relax, coming over to hug Kenny or pat his back in relief. Tweek let out a sigh. He hesitated when he saw Craig reach out to pull him to his feet, but accepted. The whole situation was a bit much for the smaller blond. Things slowly calmed down, allowing Kenny to go wash his shirt.

* * *

“See? There’s only a scar there.” While Kenny’s shirt was drying, he was showing off where Craig had shot him. What should have been a bloody wound was a clean scar, like it had happened years ago. “I’m a _magic man._ ” He wiggled his fingers for effect. He grinned at Craig from his sleeping bag on the other side of Tweek. “You’re a good shot, but if it was a walker you would want to aim for the brain.” He winked.  
  
“Fuck you, McCormick,” Craig snorted, flipping him off. He couldn’t be mad at Kenny, cause he knew he was right. But the fact of the matter was, Craig was just relieved to not have that on his conscience.  
  
“Love you too, Tucker!” The blond teasingly blew Craig a kiss, an action that made Tweek’s insides twist uncomfortably.  
  
“In all seriousness,” Kyle began, looking up from Stan resting his head in his lap. Slender fingers carded through Stan’s hair idly, a comforting action for them both after the day’s events. “ _How_ are you alive? By all logic you should be dead—not that I’m not happy you’re alright…it’s just…”  
  
“Not normal,” Clyde blurted, earning a nudge from Token.  
  
Kenny chuckled. “Nah, it’s cool, I get it. I can tell you, it’s just that…” His smile faded, his expression going serious. “…you won’t remember any of this.”  
  
The room was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. “…what does that mean?” Ike asked; the ever silent observer spoke the question everyone had.  
  
“It means exactly that: You won’t remember. In the next 24 to 48 hours, all of you will forget that I died. Forget that I told you this.” He shrugged. “It’s not the first time it’s happened. I’ve died more times than I can count; I tried counting for a while, but I stopped when I reached 30 before the age of 10.” He gave a tired smile. “It’s just my curse.”  
  
“Curse…?” Tweek echoed, chewing at his fingers anxiously.  
  
“Mhmm.” The other blond gently pulled Tweek’s hands away from his mouth. “Fun story actually. When I was a baby, my parents joined a cult because they were promised free alcohol and drugs.” He made the “ok” sign with his hand. “A+ Parents right there. Anyway, they made some deal and tried to sacrifice me to the cult’s god or something, and it backfired? or something like that? And now I’m cursed with the ability to never die.” He smiled as if he was telling a pleasant story.  
  
“…Does it hurt?” Tweek asked timidly. “When you come back…?”  
  
He hummed. “Sometimes. Depends on how I died. Which, honestly, all my deaths have been horrible. Had my heart replaced with a baked potato once, that was weird, and really painful to come back from.” Everyone visibly flinched, Stan muttering “ _What the fuck dude_ ”.  
  
“So…no one remembers?” Clyde asked. “Like… _ever_?”  
  
“Just me, and my parents,” Kenny replied casually. “It…kind of sucks, because I have to live with the notion that someone could see me die several times, and I have to see their heart break every time.” He gave Stan and Kyle a sympathetic smile. “But once it’s all over…they forget. And the pain goes away for them. So I don’t mind it.” His expression faltered a bit, betraying his words. Tweek frowned a tad, shifting on his blankets closer to Kenny, as if trying to comfort him. The other blond chuckled a little, ruffling Tweek’s hair. “I’m alright Tweeky. Everything will be alright.”  
  
Things started to quiet down, everyone getting ready to rest for the night. Now that the excitement was over, everyone was exhausted. Clyde was snoring in minutes, and Stan wasn’t far behind. Token and Kyle were talking quietly amongst themselves, and Kenny was getting himself comfortable in his sleeping bag for the night. Tweek glanced at Kenny’s curled up form, sighing a bit.  
  
“I didn’t mean to do it, you know…” Craig mumbled on his other side.  
  
Tweek looked over at him, before scooting closer and keeping his voice down. “I know,” he replied slowly. “But…everything turned out okay in the end, right?” He gave Craig a half hearted smile; he was still overwhelmed from everything, and probably wouldn’t be sleeping that night.  
  
Craig smiled as well, but even Tweek could tell it was strained. “…yeah. It’s all okay now…”  
  
They fell into silence, getting comfortable in their sleep spots, just as there was white noise filling the air. The radio crackled from the desk, before a faint female voice came over the waves. It was broken up, but the message was understandable. “ _Hello? Is…anyone there? Any….? Are….survivors?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Radio chatter and Craig is a dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait! School started, then my keyboard went out, then I just got really lazy lol! Also, I discovered that there is a town named Craig in Colorado and I couldn’t stop laughing over it. Funny shit.
> 
> This chapter is kind of short, at least to me, so I apologize for that. Not apologizing for Craig though.

“…Ello? Any……there?”  
  
Token, Kyle, Craig and Tweek all looked between each other, and Kenny’s head perked up from his sleeping bag, eyes wide. The radio continued to crackle with the woman’s voice, before the group scrambled up and ran for it, tripping over each other and waking the other 3. Token was first to reach the radio, adjusting the signal to clear the woman up. “Hello! You have reached other survivors, can you identify yourself?”  
  
There was a beat of silence, during which all the boys held their breath, before the woman finally replied. “My name is Wendy Testaburger. I am traveling with my partner, Bebe Stevens. Who am I speaking with?”  
  
Token hesitated, glancing at Craig and Kenny. “Should we identify ourselves?” He asked.  
  
Kenny rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, you did ask her to identify herself, it’s only natural she’d want to know who she’s speaking with…” he mused. “What do you think, Tucker?”  
  
Craig’s brow furrowed a tad as he thought about it. “You can identify yourself. Tell her…you’re part of a larger group, that you’re in charge of the radio.”  
  
Token nodded in understanding as he turned his attention to the radio again. “My name is Token Black; an unfortunate name, I know. I am part of a larger group, I’m just in charge of communications.”  
  
“I see,” Wendy mused. “How many are you?”  
  
Token glanced at Craig, who gave him a nod to continue. “We have eight people, all capable of defending ourselves.” It was a small lie, given Ike’s condition, and a thinly veiled threat. Given they weren’t sure if this Wendy was being honest, or her capabilities, it was best to give some sign that they could defend themselves should she plan to take them down.  
  
“We are only the two of us, and I assure you we mean no harm. Although, I can understand your uncertainty and distrust. Do you have a safe base camp?”  
  
It was Kenny who spoke this time, brows furrowed. “My name is Kenny McCormick, I’m one of the guys in charge.” He glanced at Craig, who nodded. “Pardon me, Wendy, but how do we know you’re telling us the truth, and that you aren’t going to swoop in and try to take what we have?”  
  
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?” Kyle asked, raising a brow at Kenny as Stan stumbled over, rubbing his eyes. “She could just be looking for help like we are…”  
  
“No, Kenny’s right,” Craig countered. “We have to be cautious about giving too much information. If they come here and there’s more than the two she’s claiming, they could take everything we have, or kill us all for a safe place.”  
  
Kenny nodded, looking back at the radio; Wendy still hadn’t responded, raising his guard further. “Are you still there, Wendy?”  
  
“Yes,” she finally replied after a pause. “Sorry, I was discussing options. I will be honest, you have no reason to trust us, I know. But right now we are just in need of somewhere safe to rest. We can offer what little supplies we have, and medical care; my partner is a registered nurse.”  
  
Everyone visibly stiffened at that information, looking at each other and back to Ike, before looking at each other again. “That could help immensely,” Kyle whispered. “It could save him…”  
  
“Kyle, nothing is going to save Ike from the virus—” Kenny began.  
  
“You don’t know that!” The red head hissed. “This could be our chance, we’ll have someone to give him an IV and give the wound proper care. He hasn’t deteriorated, maybe…!”  
  
Tweek made a small sound in his throat. He wanted to believe Kyle was right, but realistically, things didn’t look good for Ike. Still, maybe this nurse would be good for future injuries. “I think…we should trust her…” Craig and Kenny both stared at Tweek; Kenny’s eyes were slightly wide, while Craig’s were a bit scrutinizing. The nervous blond fidgeted with the buttons of his shirt. “Well, I mean….nngh, if they really do need help, we should help them, and--ya know—a nurse could really come in handy, cause, what do we know about medical care? Even if Ike is beyond help, having someone around who knows what to do could be really useful, so we aren’t floundering and just making things worse.”  
  
There was a pause as the two unofficial leaders glanced at each other. “He’s got a point,” Craig admitted with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “If one of us gets seriously injured, it could be a disaster. We’ve been going on sheer luck to get this far without anything major other than Ike’s bite…” He looked to Token, nodding as he pulled out the map. He then took over. “Hi Wendy, I’m the other designated Leader, Craig Tucker. We do have a safe base camp. Are you offering your friend’s services in exchange for a place to stay?”  
  
There was a pause before Wendy replied. “Yes, If possible. We’ve been sleeping in the open for a while. It would be nice to feel safe for the first time since this outbreak.”  
  
“Understandably…What do you propose then?”  
  
“I assume you are in a city or town of some sort?” Wendy mused. “Perhaps we can meet somewhere.”  
  
“Where are you located?” Token asked, looking at his map.  
  
“Just outside of Georgetown, Colorado,” Wendy answered. “You?”  
  
Token consulted his map, humming. “You’re not too terribly far then. We’re in Breckenridge to the South West of you. Why don’t we meet you outside of town?”  
  
“It’s as good a plan as any,” Wendy replied. “We will be there in two days. We will call you on the radio when we’ve arrived.” The line went dead.  
  
Token breathed a sigh of relief, smiling faintly at Kenny as Kyle and Stan headed back to their beds. “Well, that’s that. Now we wait.”  
  
The blond nodded, smiling as he clapped a hand on Token’s back. “All good to go then! We’ll go through a sort of trial period with them, of course, can’t get too comfortable right away.”  
  
Craig shifted, glancing to his feet as Token retreated to his bed as well. “Still, this could be really dangerous.”  
  
“Mm, could be,” Kenny agreed. He stretched, back cracking loudly and making Tweek jump a little. “But it could be a good thing too. We won’t know until they get here.”  
  
Craig nodded, crossing his arms and turning away to go head toward the bathrooms. At Kenny’s urging, Tweek followed the fellow blond back to their sleeping bags as everyone else settled back to sleep. The smaller of the two watched Kenny get comfortable, still sitting up and picking at his fingers; he didn’t sleep much, he never really had. Everything that had been happening had just made his ability to sleep even worse. So he waited for Craig to come back; Craig was always good for late night conversations. But when Craig returned, he took one look at Tweek in the dim lighting of the room and went to stand outside instead. Tweek frowned. Had he done something wrong? He scrambled out of his blankets, careful not to disturb anyone as he went to follow Craig outside.  
  
It was a little chilly outside the walls of the police station, a cool breeze making Tweek shudder. Craig was scowling at the sky; it was overcast, not a star could be seen, though the moon was peeking between the clouds. Tweek had learned that Craig was a fan of space, and had been taking the time to teach Tweek how to read the stars on clear nights. The blond wrapped his arms around himself, shivering as he walked to stand beside Craig. “Are, uhm…Are you okay?”  
  
Craig’s shoulders tensed, jaw clenching. “What do you want?” His tone was harsh, almost biting.  
  
Tweek flinched a little, fingers digging into the cloth of his sleeves. “Geh, I was just coming to see if you’re okay,” he replied quietly. “You kind of just…looked at me weird inside—“  
  
“Well I’m fine!” Tweek visibly jumped. “I don’t need you and your damn pity!”  
  
“It…it’s not pity!” Tweek felt his heart begin to race, and suddenly he didn’t feel as cold. He was getting angry; why was Craig acting this way all of the sudden? “I’m just worried about you, I wanted to make sure you’re okay!”  
  
Craig couldn’t help the bitter laugh that came out of his throat. “Perfect. I’m _peachy_. Cause, ya know, I don’t have to think about my sister being dead, or the fact that we’re watching Ike slowly rot, or think about the safety of everyone else here. Everything is fucking _fantastic_.”  
  
Tweek’s brows furrowed. “Well you don’t have to be a jackass about it. I was just trying to help—”  
  
“ _I don’t need your help!_ ” The words seemed to echo around them, making Tweek’s heart plummet into his stomach. “I don’t need you! I don’t need anyone!” Craig practically glared at Tweek, jaw clenched, before he closed his eyes tightly. “Why the fuck do you care so much?! Huh?!”  
  
Tweek stared for a long moment. He felt sick, angry, sad. He couldn’t pinpoint why exactly, but he knew it was Craig’s fault. “…I don’t know,” he finally replied, voice so quiet it caught them both off guard; the tenseness in Craig’s shoulders eased up, a look of regret washing over his face for just a split second. “…but now I wish I didn’t.” That said, Tweek took a shaky breath and went back inside, ignoring the quiet murmuring of his name as it fell from Craig’s lips. He shuffled numbly back to his blankets, grabbing them and curling himself closer to Kenny. Feeling the other blond, Kenny opened his sleeping bag and ushered Tweek closer, shooshing him gently as Tweek began to cry. He didn’t really know why he was crying, but his heart was hurting.  
  
So much for trying to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Wendy and Bebe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF, so sorry this took longer than I intended. My ADD has been horrid and it made it so hard to concentrate on getting this done! And, it ended up a couple pages longer than the last few chapters! WHOO! 
> 
> Also! Made a music playlist! It can be found here: https://youtu.be/uTon3HxMpPc?list=PLmsSf-sf2Cck-DpTJMrUZEO2Y02WlqQ_N ! Take a look!

There was a strange sort of tension in the air after that, and in such close quarters, no one could really escape it. For the first time since Tweek had joined the group, Craig and Tweek actively made sure they were as far from each other as possible. They didn’t sit or stand near each other, didn’t talk to each other, didn’t even look at each other. It was almost as if they were trying to forget the other existed. It was awkward for everyone involved, but there wasn’t much they could do about it.  
   
As such, Tweek spent a lot of time with Kenny, not that Kenny minded. In fact, he was glad; he was feeling rather protective of Tweek after the whole ordeal, especially after getting the details. So, Kenny took it upon himself to keep the other blond busy, the two doing random tasks together, acting as if everything was fine.  
   
Except, nothing was fine, not for Tweek.  
   
Not only was he fighting with Craig, but he found himself freaked out. When Kenny had said everyone would forget he had died, he thought Kenny had been joking. But everyone went about their tasks as if nothing had happened. No one remembered the fact that Craig had shot Kenny, that Kenny had died.  
   
No one, except Tweek.  
   
The scene was seared into his memory, and he couldn’t understand why no one remembered; it was a traumatizing event, at any rate. He was mildly horrified that no one remembered. So when he and Kenny were going through the armory of the police station, he felt he needed to say something. “I remember.”  
   
It was so sudden, that Kenny was caught a little off guard. Tweek had been so silent during their task, that Kenny almost dropped the riot baton he was holding. He blinked rapidly at Tweek, mildly confused. “I’m sorry, what?”  
   
Tweek took a shaky breath, setting aside ammunition into piles. “I watched you die. I remember.” Tweek’s head jerked up when he heard the baton clatter to the ground.  
   
Kenny was staring at him, eyes slightly wide and face going pale. His mouth hung slightly ajar, mouth trying to form words that wouldn’t come. How? _How_? How could Tweek remember, no one ever remembered, _how_?! “….what….?”  
   
Tweek took another shaky breath. “You dropped through the skylight….and Craig shot you in the heart cause you scared us and we thought you were a biter….” He glanced at Kenny. “Stan….Stan tried to keep you alive…and Kyle tried to beat the crap out of Craig….” He felt like he was about to cry just thinking about it. “And then you just…you sat up and…acted like nothing happened. You laughed and all you wanted to do was clean your shirt…” He laughed weakly. “It was like nothing happened, you just—”  
   
Tweek froze as Kenny’s arms wrapped tightly around him, cupping the back of his head and balling his fist in Tweek’s shirt. He was shaking, tears welling in his eyes. “ _I’m so sorry_ ,” he whispered. “You weren’t supposed to remember that, Tweek…I’m so _fucking sorry_ …” He was shaking, arms tightly wrapped around Tweek’s shoulders. “Fuck I feel _awful_ …”  
   
Tweek was hesitant as he patted Kenny’s back. “It’s okay, man…” He sighed quietly. “It…it’s not like you could have prevented it. Well, I mean, yeah, you could have by not just dropping in and doing the whistle and letting us know you were back, but you couldn’t have predicted Craig was such an excellent shot and that you’d die from it.” This wasn’t going the way Tweek had envisioned. He wasn’t even sure if he was making sense. “Ah Jesus, I just probably made you feel worse, huh? I was never good at this kinda thing, I’m sorry…”  
   
Kenny laughed weakly, pulling away. “You have nothing to apologize for, dude. You’re right. I should have done that. I should have known better. Things aren’t so simple that I can jump through a skylight unannounced. That was my own fault.” He smiled softly at the fellow blond. “I take full responsibility; I should have treated the situation as if I could die permanently. I just…hadn’t thought about it…and I’m sorry you still remember what happened…”  
   
Tweek gave Kenny a watery smile. “It’s okay, man. You said it yourself…no one ever remembers….why would you think someone like me would remember?”  
   
Kenny laughed, throwing an arm over Tweek’s shoulder. “You don’t give yourself enough credit! You’re special, Tweeky.” More than Kenny had really expected. Oh well. He gave Tweek an affectionate squeeze. “C’mon, let’s go see what Token is up to. Maybe he’s heard from those girls.” He stood, dragging Tweek up with him and leading back to the main room.  
   
Sure enough, Token seemed to be talking into the radio, Kyle and Stan at his side as they made arrangements. Stan looked over as the two blonds came in. “Perfect timing. We were just about to figure out who to send to meet those girls.”  
   
“We were just wondering about that,” Kenny hummed, grinning. “I should go, I’m quite the ladies man.”  
   
“And less intimidating than Craig,” Tweek mumbled. “Honestly you’re less intimidating than most people here…”  
   
“That’s the secret of being deadly,” Kenny smirked, nudging Tweek. “Send them into a false sense of security, then take ‘em down.” When the other shuddered, Kenny laughed loudly. He then looked back toward Stan. “So, who is gonna go then?”  
   
“Well, definitely you,” Kyle replied, arms crossed over his chest. “…Maybe Tweek should go too.” He looked at Stan. “Three would be good, right?” When his boyfriend nodded, he continued. “So who should be the third party.”  
   
“Honestly, I think it should be you.”  
   
Kyle blinked rapidly. “…me? But I never go off on missions—“  
   
“That’s exactly why,” Stan interrupted. “You stay and you hover, and it stresses you out. And everyone else for that matter.”  
   
“But…” Kyle looked toward Ike, who was chatting with Clyde. The youngest member of the group looked tired, but was smiling. “But Ike…”  
   
Stan shook his head. “Kyle. There’s six other people here that can take care of him. I can take care of him.” He paused. “I think letting yourself detach from the camp will be good for you…”  
   
The red head opened his mouth to argue, but found he couldn’t come up with a good excuse. He knew Stan was right, there was no good argument out of this. He huffed, almost pouting. “Fine, I’ll go.” He grumbled a little when Stan smiled and kissed his cheek. Stan was obviously gloating in his own way.  
   
Kenny clapped his hands. “That settles it then! Let’s head out!”

* * *

The trip to meet up with the girls wasn’t very long. Per request of Stan, they had brought weapons just in case, but Kenny was fairly sure they wouldn’t need them. They made it to the rendezvous point, waiting for the girls in various degrees of alertness. Tweek was rather twitchy, looking around frantically in hopes they wouldn’t be snuck up on. Kyle was calmer, but aware of his surroundings. He had brought their pistol, but he felt just safe enough to have the safety on. No point in being ready to fire when nothing was there to fire at. Kenny, on the other hand, was calm as can be. He even had a smile on his face, humming softly to himself as he bounced on his heels.  
   
The sound of shoes scuffing the road caught their attention. The girls were about their age, and looked like they had seen better days; hadn’t they all? One had long blonde curly hair, tied back in a ponytail. Even through this, she sported red lipstick. The other had her black hair cropped short, a stern look on her face. They both had scarves around their necks, the dark haired one having it over her nose and mouth. She lowered the scarf as they approached, keeping a safe distance from the guys as they got in a line. “Are you Kenny?” She asked, tone firm but skeptical.  
   
Kenny smiled lazily, hands in his pockets. “That’s me! These are my friends, Tweek and Kyle. We’re here to talk, maybe escort you back to our base if we feel safe enough.”  
   
The blond woman’s eyes narrowed a bit. “If you feel safe enough? You’d rather lead us here and then leave us to _die_?”  
   
Kyle stepped up, scowling. “We have no obligation to you. For all we know you could be leading others to us—“ He stopped when Kenny lifted his hand to silence him, huffing a bit as he crossed his arms. He didn’t like the blonde girl’s attitude and he made sure they knew it.  
   
“Now now,” Kenny chided gently. “No need to get aggressive. We’re simply looking out for our people, that seems reasonable, yeah?” He smiled, trying to set everyone at ease. “We all have people we care about and want what’s best for them, I’m sure we can reach an agreement, right…?”  
   
The dark haired girl glanced at the blonde, before nodding. “Yes, I think we can. I’m Wendy, this is Bebe. I can assure you we come alone and mean no harm.”  
   
“I’m sure,” Kenny mused, humming to himself. “You’re simply looking for somewhere safe, yeah?”  
   
Wendy nodded. “We’ve had our share of bad luck as of late, and would really like a peaceful night’s sleep, if available…”  
   
Kenny hummed, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He then shrugged. “What harm can two more do?”  
   
Kyle made a strangled sound in the back of his throat, turning Kenny around sharply. “ _Are you crazy?!_ ” he hissed, shaking the aloof blond. “That’s all you're going to question?! What about the others?!”  
   
“The way I see it,” Kenny replied quietly, shrugging Kyle’s hands from his shoulders. “We can question them until we’re blue in the face, but we will never know if they’re telling the truth until we can get them to trust us. You attract more flies with honey than vinegar, Kyle.” He smirked. “If they’re a threat, we will know, and be more than capable of defending ourselves. It’s seven against two, if it comes down to it. We’ll be fine. Trust me, Kyle. I need that from you.”  
   
The red head’s jaw clenched, but he eased up with a huff, turning on his heel and starting to head back. Kenny grinned and motioned for the girls to follow before throwing an arm around Tweek’s shoulders casually. The girls looked at each other, before nodding and following after them. “So,” Bebe mused, trying to break the awkward silence. “Tweek?” Tweek turned to look at her, falling out of step with Kenny to talk to her properly. “Is that your real name, or just a nickname?”  
   
He twitched a bit, biting his lip. “It’s my real name. You wouldn’t believe my full name if I told you.”  
   
Bebe raised a brow. “Try me.”  
   
“Tweek Tweak.”  
   
There was a long pause, before Bebe giggled. “You’re shitting me.”  
   
Tweek shook his head. He had expected such a reaction, most people thought he was lying when he told them that. “Nope, it’s my real name….”  
   
Bebe laughed even more, arm wrapping around her stomach until Wendy elbowed her. “ _ **OOF**_. Sorry, sorry, that was rude of me,” she giggled. “It’s a….very _unique_ name.”  
   
Tweek raised a brow, giving a half smile. “I know it’s weird. My parents were weird.”  
   
“Your parents were probably meth-heads,” Kenny blurted, making Tweek shrug.  
   
Wendy stared blankly for a moment. “Wait, what?”  
   
Tweek waved his hand. “Long story short, my parents laced the coffee they sold with meth.” Wendy made flabbergasted sounds, making Tweek and Kenny laugh loudly.  
   
It didn’t take long for them to make it back to the station, Kyle whistling to announce their arrival. After a few beats Stan let them in, wrapping his arms around Kyle happily. Kyle returned the hug tightly. “How’s Ike?” Was the first thing out of the redhead’s mouth.  
   
“He’s fine,” Stan told him, pulling away with an exasperated sigh. “We’ve been playing cards the whole time with Clyde. I was just thinking about changing his bandages.”  
   
Bebe and Wendy perked up. “Bandages?” Wendy asked, setting her backpack down. “Someone is injured? Bebe here is a registered nurse.”  
   
Bebe beamed. “Yeah! I can take a look; I know treating serious injuries in this hellscape is probably hard without medical training.”  
   
For a moment, Kyle’s face lit up. A medical professional? In their camp?! The idea made his heart soar with hope for Ike. He grabbed Bebe’s wrists, making her jump. “Yes! My little brother—he got really badly hurt, and we’ve been battling an infection on it by cleaning it regularly and with antibiotics we raided from some pharmacies…”He pulled Bebe toward where Ike was, Stan stumbling after them.  
   
Kenny grinned, hands on his hips as he turned his attention to Wendy. “That’s pretty damn lucky,” he told her. “Her training must have come in handy.”  
   
The dark haired woman nodded. “It has a few times. I’m very grateful to have her with me…”  
   
Token, who had started to pull blankets and things from the storage for the girls, nodded. “You’re lucky. We could have used someone like her back when he first got hurt. Not to mention just injuries we’ve all gotten along the way.” He opened his mouth to continue, when Bebe screamed, scrambling up and away from Ike.  
   
“NO!” She yelled. “No! Fuck this! He needs a fucking _bullet_ in his brain, not medical attention!”  
   
Kyle stood, seething. “Can you help him or not?!”  
   
Wendy and Kenny ran over, trying to placate things. “Bebe, what’s the problem?” Wendy asked, grabbing the blonde’s shoulders to hold her attention. “Look at me. What’s wrong?”  
   
“He’s _bit_!” She screeched, pointing at the uncovered wound. The infection was getting worse, and the wound was starting to smell. Ike himself was sweating with fever, though he looked unphased by Bebe’s yelling. “That is a fucking _bite_ and he’s going to turn, he needs a bullet in his head, not his wound treated!”  
   
“He’s fine!” Kyle yelled, Stan tugging at his shirt to try and pull him back. “He just has an infection!”  
   
“Yeah, infected with this fucking bug that has turned everyone we know into mindless creatures!”  
   
Ike just watched between the two as they continued to scream at each other, Stan and Wendy trying to pacify them both. He looked at Clyde, who was sitting next to him. He giggled a little as the brunet wiped the sweat from his brow. “Well, this is fun,” Ike told him. “I like being the center of controversy.”  
   
Stan managed to tug Kyle away to have a hushed argument. Wendy managed to quiet Bebe down. “Let’s make an agreement,” Wendy told her. “Use your training to try and better what life he has left? That was your job before, right?” Her voice lowered. “We all know he’s going to turn, but it is not our place to determine when his time has come.”  
   
“But Wendy—“  
   
“No buts. Just take care of it to the best of your ability to make what life he has more bearable. Okay?”  
   
Bebe looked at Ike, who just grinned at her. Her eyes flicked to the bite, before she sighed heavily and looked at the first aid kit they managed to build up. She knelt down, grabbing gloves from it. “Fine…” She instructed Clyde as she worked on cleaning and stitching the wound to the best of her ability; with such a gaping hole, it was hard to find good anchors for the sutures. Ike was a champ, biting down on Clyde’s offered jacket to keep himself from yelling in pain. After several minutes, the wound was redressed, and Bebe had set up an IV from what Kenny and the others had raided from the hospital, rigging it to a coat hanger.  
   
Kyle and Stan finally came over, Kyle’s arms folded over his chest. “Well, what’s the verdict?” He asked, sounding cautious.  
   
Bebe stood with a heavy sigh. “Look, I know he’s your brother and you care about him a lot, but here’s the facts. We have two options: Make him as comfortable as possible and wait it out in pathetic hopes it ebbs off, or end it before he turns.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussions of moving on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came a bit quicker than the last few. But we are closing in on my favorite chapters! :3

Over the course of the week, Wendy and Bebe had proven themselves to be quite helpful. Wendy and Token pulled their brains together and were able to plot out key points on the map. Bebe used her medical training to take care of Ike, and while he didn’t seem to be getting any better, the effort was appreciated by Kyle. At the current moment, Bebe was changing out the IV bag, one of the last few they had. “We’re going to need more,” she told Kenny as he passed, to which the blond nodded.  
  
Stan came over, sitting next to Kyle; he had just come back from a raid with Craig for some food. “How’s he doing…?”  
  
Kyle was quiet, staring down at Ike somberly. He had his little brother’s head in his lap. Ike’s face was flushed and slick with sweat. Kyle idly dipped what looked like a torn piece of shirt into a bowl of cold water, dabbing at the teen’s sweaty face and neck. Ike was barely able to keep his eyes open, mumbling nonsense under his breath. “….Not so good,” Kyle whispered. “For a minute…I thought he was getting better…His fever broke last night, I thought he was going to get better….” Kyle’s throat went tight, but he swallowed past it.  
  
Stan sighed sadly, looking up at Bebe as he took the strip of fabric from Kyle and took over. “How bad is it?” He asked her.  
  
The nurse sighed. “The decay is worsening. The dead skin is eating away at healthy tissue. Even in the off chance he survived this, he’d have to have it amputated….” She looked down at the delirious teen. “And…well, you already know my stance on the situation…” She exhaled through her nose as she got up, going over to where Tweek was watching Wendy and Token. “What’s going on here?”  
  
“You remember that guy we managed to get in contact with?” Wendy asked. “He said he was outside of Denver, right?”  
  
Bebe thought about it. “I think so. Why, you think we should find him?”  
  
“Well we can’t stay here.” Wendy lowered her voice. “Craig and Stan could barely find any food. I’m thinking someone make another medical run to the hospital and we head to Denver. Big city like that is going to have more places to get food from than this little town.”  
  
“And more of those _things_ ,” Tweek mumbled, biting at his lip. “Bigger population, it would be easy to bottleneck and end up trapped.”  
  
“It’s a risk we would have to take,” Token replied. “We’ll have to have a vote on it either way. Majority rule, since we already know Kyle will vote not to move.” He waved Kenny over, the blond coming when called. “Call for a group meeting, we need to discuss the situation.”  
  
Kenny nodded, before standing up on the table and whistling. Every head turned to look at him. “Gather ‘round guys, meeting time!”  
  
“What about?” Clyde asked as everyone gathered around the table; Token helped Kenny off the table. “Everything okay?”  
  
“Not exactly,” Wendy began. “We were checking things over, and we may have to move on. Craig and Stan barely managed a backpack of food.”  
  
“We’ve raided everything we can find,” Craig commented, holding up the barely full backpack. “The place was picked pretty clean before we even got here, we were lucky to get what we could in the beginning.”  
  
There was quiet murmuring among the group. While they still had decent supplies, if things were growing scarce it would be best to move on before they had nothing left. “Well,” Stan began, arm secure around Kyle’s shoulders. “Say we _do_ leave, where do we go? This is the safest place we’ve had since this whole thing started.” A chorus of agreement came from most of the others.  
  
Wendy waved them down to silence. “I know, I know. We have safe walls here, and hot water and things we haven’t had in months. But what good is that if we don’t have _food_?” The boys all seemed to look at each other, as if searching for an excuse. She sighed. “Without food, we’ll be dead in less than a week. Just like our ancestors hundreds of years ago, we need to go where the food is.”  
  
“And where is that?” Kenny asked curiously, arms crossed over his chest.  
  
“Denver,” Bebe answered. There was an uproar for a moment. “Hear us out!” She yelled over the cacophony of boys. “Denver is a really big city, there will be more opportunities for shelter and food there than in a tiny town like this.”  
  
“And more biters,” Kyle hissed. “It’s a death trap!”  
  
“Besides,” Clyde mumbled. “Denver…that’s a long way to walk…and with Ike in his condition walking would be bad.”  
  
“ _Exactly_ ,” Kyle agreed. “We can’t just up and leave.”  
  
“Listen, there’s someone just outside of Denver I’ve been in contact with,” Wendy began. “He says Denver was abandoned, there had been military there but they’re gone, nothing but tanks and weapons left behind.” At the mention of weapons, Kenny, Craig and Stan all perked up.  
  
“….Still a long way to walk…” Clyde mused.  
  
Tweek bit his lip in thought. “Well, can anyone drive?” He asked. There was a quiet murmur. “Driving, it’s not far…2 hours maybe, if the roads are clear…”  
  
“Can’t drive without cars,” Clyde countered. “Plus, we’d need multiple, 10 of us aren’t going to fit in one vehicle, especially with Ike in his condition.”  
  
“Kenny can hotwire cars,” Stan replied. “When we met him he was doing just that.” He looked to Kenny. “If we find some salvageable vehicles, could you do it?”  
  
Kenny stood on a chair, striking a pose. “ _My time has come!_ ”  
  
“That settles it then,” Wendy said with a smile. “I figure, we have another run made to the hospital for IVs and things, and get ourselves ready to leave in a day or two—“  
  
Kyle cleared his throat loudly. “I think you’ve forgotten one _glaring_ detail. Is it really safe to be moving Ike?”  
  
Stan visibly twitched, jaw clenched. He dropped his arm, before turning Kyle to face him. “Kyle, I know you mean well and you love Ike a lot, but you have got to face reality. _Ike. Isn’t. Getting. Better._ He never was, and he’s not going to—”  
  
“You don’t know that,” Kyle hissed, pulling his arm from Stan’s grasp. “He could pull through, he’s strong—”  
  
“Kyle!” Stan grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a firm shake. “That’s not how this works! That’s not how _any_ of this works and you know that! We’ve watched it happen _countless_ times, you know that he’s in the final stages! Your denial isn’t going to change that!” He paused. “Whether we move him or not won’t matter, it won’t change anything. And…” He glanced at Kenny. “I’m sure they can find a van or something, so we can lay him down and Bebe can care for him. Right?”  
  
Kenny nodded. “Yeah, totally! There’s probably an RV or something around here somewhere! I was thinking about taking Craig and Tweek into the residential area to hunt for vehicles, I’m sure we can find something!” At the mention of their names, Craig and Tweek glanced at each other, before looking away again. Great.  
  
Kyle glanced at Kenny, then back at Stan, who was staring at him with those pathetic puppy dog eyes he was so good at. The redhead eventually sighed. “….I hate the fact that you’re right,” he grumbled. “….fine…”  
  
There was a collective sigh of relief, before Kenny clapped his hands. “That settles it. Clyde, you and Stan head for the hospital. Tweek, Craig and I are gonna go car hunting!” He grinned. “We gotta get out of here.”

* * *

The great thing about such a small town was, the residential area wasn’t too terribly far. At least, for Tweek that was a bonus; he wanted to be anywhere but here. He and Craig were on opposing sides of Kenny, and only really spoke when directly spoken to. Kenny had done a relatively good job filling the silence, but as they came up on a neighborhood, Kenny’s patience was wearing thin.  
  
“Tweek,” he sighed. “Why don’t you and Craig—”  
  
“We aren’t doing anything together,” Craig interrupted. “Let’s just get this over with and get back, none of us want to be here.”  
  
Kenny looked to Tweek, who glanced away. He hated to admit it, but he agreed with Craig. Kenny rubbed at his temples. “That is _it_ ,” he hissed. “I have _had it up to here!_ ” He made a gesture, hand high above his head. He turned to them both, eyes narrowed and hands on his hips. “Alright you two. I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.” He pointed at Tweek. “I know you’re upset after Craig was an asshole to you, but this whole avoiding each other thing is starting to get on my nerves.”  
  
Tweek visibly flinched, but nodded. He understood where Kenny was coming from; the tension between him and Craig was suffocating for him, he couldn’t imagine how it was for everyone else. “…okay…”  
  
Kenny then turned to Craig, pointing accusingly. “I don’t know what crawled up your ass and _died_ , but you need to take care of it because your piss poor attitude is effecting everyone. Everyone is walking on eggshells—“  
  
“Why are you getting on my case?!” Craig spat. “Kyle has a worse attitude and I don’t see you lecturing him!”  
  
“At least Kyle is communicating!” Kenny yelled. “You have this silent stoic thing going on, and believe me, it doesn’t make you look cool! You both need to start communicating.”  
  
“I tried,” Tweek grumbled, arms crossed over his chest. “It isn’t my fault if Craig wants to be an ass.”  
  
“Oh please,” Craig growled. “You’re the one who doesn’t know how to leave people alone.”  
  
“Oh lookit that, I—gah!—have for almost 2 weeks now!”  
  
“Enough!” Kenny stepped between the two, as they has started to edge closer and closer to each other as they argued. “Craig, _why_ are you picking a fight? And such a stupid one too!”  
  
“Because, he wouldn’t leave me alone! He’s always hanging on me—”  
  
Tweek scoffed. “Excuse me, but you were the one who rescued me and has practically been glued to my side until this fight!”  
  
“Wow, Tucker, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a little crush on our dearest Tweeky.”  
  
Craig visibly stiffened, and the silence between the three was thick. Tweek’s eyes went slightly wide as he looked from Craig to Kenny, then back to Craig. When the dark haired male said nothing, Tweek murmured a quiet, “…is that true…?”  
  
“I—….its….” Craig glanced between the two, his face slowly reddening. When no one else spoke, Craig let out a growl and stormed off, tugging at the tassels of his chullo. Tweek let his eyes follow Craig, before he jogged after him.  
  
Kenny, on the other hand, raised a brow and put a finger to his lips, watching the two. “Ohohoho!” he chuckled. “I think we’ve found Craig’s Achilles heel.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving on out, off to Denver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3
> 
> Welcome to my favorite chapter so far. I have been waiting for this and the next some quite a while.

It was mid-day when the crew was preparing to leave the station. Over the course of the last two days, Kenny, Craig and Tweek had found a few vehicles. They found an RV to transport Ike, a pickup, and Craig had the fortune of finding a motorcycle with keys in the ignition. Craig and Tweek seemed to be on better terms, though they weren’t talking very much; at least it wasn’t tense between them anymore.  
  
As Kenny and Token threw the last of their supplies in the back of the pickup, Clyde started to cry. “Goodbye hot shower…” he lamented. “I will think of you always…!”  
  
“I will admit,” Stan mumbled from where he was leaning on the RV. “I _am_ gonna miss those hot showers. We got lucky to find hot water.” He sighed as Clyde let out another dramatic sob.  
  
Craig punched Clyde in the arm as he walked by, making Clyde whine and rub his arm. “Quit it. We need to get going. Fall is rolling in and that means its getting darker earlier. Last thing we need is to get caught somewhere.”  
  
Token hummed. “Denver is only 2 hours away, give or take.”  
  
“You’re assuming the roads are clear,” Craig pointed out, which made Token hum in agreement.  
  
“And from our experience,” Stan continued, gesturing to Kenny. “It won’t be. So we will probably have to do what we can.”  
  
Token nodded, getting in the back of the pickup with Clyde. “Truer words have never been spoken. Alright, if we need to stop, flash your lights twice,” he told Stan. “We will do the same. Craig will be up front with Tweek.”  
  
Tweek screamed, looking startled. “Me? No way, I’m not getting on a motorcycle, that’s suicide!”  
  
“What, you don’t trust me?” Craig asked, handing the only helmet to Tweek. “It’s not like there’s going to be anyone for us to avoid. It’ll just be us.”  
  
Tweek made a few uncertain noises, playing with the helmet. “You promise?” At Craig’s nod, the blond sighed and put the helmet on.  
  
Token smiled. “Now that that’s settled, let’s get started.”  
  
Stan nodded, getting in the RV, where Bebe and Kyle were taking care of Ike. Kenny and Wendy got into the cab of the pickup, Clyde slamming the bed of the pickup shut for him and Token. Craig got on the motorcycle and waited for Tweek to get settled before the engine roared to life, making Tweek jump and grab around Craig’s middle.  
  
They drove for a good hour, with Craig going ahead to scout the roadways. When he found how blocked it was, he doubled back and motioned for them to pull off the road. When everyone was stopped, Kyle came out of the RV with Stan. “Why did we stop?”  
  
Craig shook his head. “There’s no way the truck can break through this,” he told the redhead. “We gotta clear some of this, and then maybe we can use the RV as a bulldozer of sorts to push cars aside. But this?” He motioned to the wall of cars pointing different directions, like they had tried to turn around and collided. “It’ll just make more of a mess.”  
  
Kyle looked at the mess and sighed. He hated to admit Craig was right. “So what do we do?”  
  
Kenny jumped out of the pickup. “Simple. We’ve gotta make a path. It’s gonna take some serious muscle, but we can move these aside.” He pointed at Kyle. “You and Bebe focus on Ike. Wendy, I assume you aren’t above getting your hands dirty.”  
  
“Way to avoid being sexist, Kenny, I’m proud,” Wendy smirked, rubbing her hands together. “Let’s get to work.”  
  
With that, The rest of the group started to work together on moving the mass of cars. Like Kenny had warned, it was a bit of a struggle with the cars not having power, but they were managing. But it wasn’t the quietest job they could have done. The metal from the cars scraped together, echoing in the silence of the abandoned freeway as they tried to clear a path for the RV to fit through. Between the scraping of metal and the yelling, it wasn’t long before there was the shuffling of easily a hundred or more corpses. Kenny had been on top of another truck when he heard the shuffling, his heart stopping as he slammed himself onto the roof of the truck. “ _GUYS! Hide! Horde!_ ”  
  
Token looked up, fear clear in his eyes. “I thought there would be nothing out here!”  
  
“The scraping,” Stan muttered. “It must have caught their attention; we’ve been at it a while…!”  
  
“ _Hide_!” Clyde yelled, running to an old van. He yanked the door open, shoving Token and Wendy inside and shutting the door. Stan was bolting to the RV, getting in and locking the door, telling Kyle and Bebe to keep silent. Kenny got into the truck and curled on the floor, waiting for the horde to pass.  
  
Craig and Tweek had been furthest out, and finding nothing to hide in, they shoved themselves under cars. Tweek covered his mouth with his hands as he tried to stifle panicked whimpers. From his car, Craig pressed a finger to his lips, motioning for Tweek to stay silent. For several agonizing minutes, the only sound that filled the air was the undead’s garbled and gurgled sounds, and the shuffling of their feet as the trudged through. Kyle and Stan watched from the RV window, holding their breaths.  
  
Tweek’s heart was hammering against his chest, eyes wide as he watched the pairs of feet shuffle by. His eyes flicked quickly to each pair of feet, before Craig’s waving hand caught his attention. Craig kept the fear from his face as he made a “calm down” motion with his hands, then motioned for Tweek to breathe. Tweek nodded frantically in reply, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on steadying his breathing.  
  
Eventually, it seemed that the wave passed. Craig peeked out, but didn’t move. Slowly the group started coming out of their hiding places, exhaling a sigh of relief. “That was close,”Clyde whimpered as they regrouped.  
  
“I don’t want to see one that up close again unless I’m killing it,” Kenny mumbled. There was a collective groan of agreement.  
  
Tweek let his shoulders sag, flexing his jaw from how hard he had had it clenched, as he went over to the highway guardrail to sit down. He had just started to relax, listening to Kenny and crew plan their next move, when Tweek faintly heard something, like a hiss or growl. Looking behind him, all he could see was a thick layer of trees and underbrush, typical Colorado scenery. But as he turned back around, the hissing got louder—  
  
He let out a scream, falling back off the guardrail as he yanked his leg. What looked like one of those creatures from the waist up had wormed from under one of the cars and grabbed his ankle. In the force of yanking his leg, he threw himself back and went tumbling down the hill into the underbrush.  
  
“ _TWEEK_!” Craig was quickly going after him, bat in hand, while Clyde and Token killed what had grabbed the blond.  
  
Once he had hit the bottom of the hill, Tweek ran. He had no idea where he was running in his panicked state, he just knew he needed to hide. Blood was pumping in his ears, drowning out Craig’s cries for him as he bolted, weaving through the trees and bushes.  
  
Craig had taken a bit longer coming down the hill, but that didn’t stop him from following the rustling that he only hoped was the frightened blond, screaming his name as he ran. Tweek was unarmed, if there was something out here, he couldn’t defend himself, and Craig couldn’t live with that.

* * *

Back at the top of the hill, it was a bustle of activity. Kenny was biting his lip, pacing. When the sound of Craig’s voice grew quiet, he headed for the rail. Stan grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”  
  
“I’ve gotta find them,” Kenny replied quickly. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”  
  
“We need you here,” Stan argued. “You and Craig are our leaders, and with Craig gone that falls on you. _You can’t leave us_.”  
  
Kenny swallowed thickly. The sound of Tweek screaming, of Craig’s cry of distress, still echoed loudly in his ears. “But…”  
  
“I’ll go.”  
  
Everyone turned to Clyde, who was securing his machete. Token looked concerned. “Clyde, no, that’s suicide. We have to trust that Craig will bring Tweek back…”  
  
Clyde shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Craig is my best friend. He didn’t leave me behind when this whole thing started, I’m not gonna abandon him now.” Determined, he went to the guardrail. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back before you know it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding Tweek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is going to be bittersweet, though I am expecting a lot of comments about this one. Or for people to stop reading. LOL.

“ _Tweeeeeeeek_!”  
  
Craig’s yells echoed through the trees, feet pounding against the earth below him. His lungs screamed for air, but the only thing on Craig’s mind was finding Tweek. He couldn’t lose another person, especially not someone he had grown to care so deeply about. He didn’t care that he was drawing attention to himself, swinging his bat whenever he came across one of the undead. They didn’t matter anymore, all that mattered was Tweek.  
  
Luckily for Clyde, he was able to follow the trail of death and Craig’s voice. It saved him the trouble of having to kill them off, though he still had a few to handle. After some time, Craig’s voice seemed to get closer, making him start to run. The sooner he got to Craig and Tweek, the better. “Craig!” He called.  
  
Craig halted, hearing his name. It took him a long moment to realize who was calling his name. “Clyde…Clyde…!” Why was Clyde here? He turned toward the direction of his friend’s voice. “Clyde!”  
  
Hearing Craig call back, Clyde ran faster, before coming to the small clearing Craig had found himself in. He slowed to a stop, panting heavily. “Oh thank fuck,” he gasped. “I thought….I’d never find you…”  
  
“Have you seen Tweek?” Craig asked, going over and grabbing Clyde by the shoulders. “Please tell me you’ve seen him…!”  
  
“Hey, hey, calm down man!” Clyde grabbed Craig’s wrists, prying his hands off him. “I was behind you by a bit.” He spoke as calmly as he could manage. “I haven’t seem him. But we’re going to find him, okay?”  
  
“I can’t lose him,” Craig whispered frantically. “I can’t lose him Clyde, not him too…!”  
  
“I know, I know.” Clyde shooshed him gently, keeping his ears listening for anything coming their way. “You won’t lose him, okay? We’re gonna find him, Craig. We’re going to find Tweek, and take him back to camp, and get to Denver. Okay?”  
  
Craig stared, letting it process, before he nodded stiffly. “Okay…okay…”  
  
The brunet sighed softly. “Alright…Now let’s look for him together, okay? We’ll be safer together.”  
  
Craig swallowed thickly, but nodded. “Yeah…yeah, okay. Let’s go, we need to find him.”  
  
The two walked through the forest, keeping a decent distance apart but being able to still see each other. They called for Tweek, listening for anything; the undead, or Tweek’s voice, something. Clyde walked over as they entered a clearing, sighing. “Man, maybe he went back…”  
  
“No.” Craig’s words were sharp, quick. “No, if he had gone back we would have seen him by now. He’s still out here. He—” He paused, hearing something. When Clyde opened his mouth to speak, Craig quickly held up a hand to quiet him. They strained their ears, listening, and after a long moment, Craig heard it clearly: hyperventilating, whimpering. Tweek. His breath hitched as he listened, trying to follow the sound carefully. He came to a stop next to a large log. Upon inspection, he realized it was hollow; a perfect hiding spot for someone small and thin. Craig slowly stepped to the opening, kneeling down.  
  
Sure enough, Craig was greeted by a tuft of messy blond hair, and the sound of frantic whimpers. For a moment, Craig’s heart soared in relief. He got down on all fours, partially crawling into the log; he couldn’t fit as well, but just enough to reach his arm out. “…Tweek…?” He watched the mass of hair twitch with a small cry. “Tweek…it’s me, it’s Craig.” Hesitantly, he reached out and pet the blond fluff; Tweek screeched and twitched, straightening and looking at the offending hand. His eyes were wide with terror, and Craig held up his hands in surrender. “Tweek, it’s okay…it’s okay, it’s me, you’re safe…”  
  
Tweek let out an almost crazed laugh. “ _Safe_ …?! Nothing is safe anymore, _no one_ is safe…!” He grabbed at his hair, tugging at it.  
  
“Tweek, I know, it’s fucking terrifying. But there’s nothing here right now.” He licked his lips, holding a hand out. “C’mon, come on out, Tweek, we can go back to the others and get to Denver…”  
  
The blond let out another screech that made Craig’s ears ring in such close quarters. “What good is it going to do…?! What is in Denver anyway?! Just more people! More of those things!”  
  
Clyde glanced around hurriedly. “Craig hurry up, I think he’s drawing attention to us…!”  
  
Craig held both hands out to Tweek. “Please, Tweek, you are no safer here, you’ll be safer with the group! Please, come out of there! I can protect you!”  
  
Tweek was crying by this point, frantic. He grabbed at Craig’s hands clumsily, and as Craig backed out of the log he pulled Tweek out with him. Once they were both out of the log, Craig pulled Tweek into his arms; Tweek clung to Craig, crying loudly into his shoulder. Tweek was stronger than this, he knew that, but he had been terrified beyond thinking.  
  
Clyde stood by them, and slowly he could hear the growls of unwanted visitors. He grabbed Craig’s bat off the ground. “Guys…! I hate to break this touching reunion but we have company!”  
  
Craig looked around quickly, nodding. “Okay. Okay. Tweek, we gotta go. You need to get up.”  
  
Tweek peeked up from Craig’s shoulder, and had to stop himself from panicking again. His heart was pounding as he came to the realization they were quickly becoming surrounded. “Oh god, oh Jesus, this is it…!” Clyde was swinging Craig’s bat to keep some at bay.  
  
“No, no, Tweek, listen.” Craig pulled away enough to hold Tweek’s face in his hands, forcing him to look him in they eye. “You need to get up, and we need to go.” He then grabbed Tweek by the arms and stood, pulling Tweek to his feet. “Up, up, there we go, good.”  
  
Clyde let out a snarl as he bashed a head open with the bat, before swinging his machete down into another. “You guys go,” he told them. “I’ll give you a head start.”  
  
Craig’s head whipped around to look at Clyde. “Clyde _no_ —“  
  
“Do you want to survive or not?!” The brunet screamed, swinging both weapons.  
  
“Clyde!”  
  
“Just go!”  
  
Craig grit his teeth, before taking Tweek’s hand and starting to lead him away as fast as he could; they couldn’t run here, the underbrush was too thick. They had just gotten to where they could run when Clyde’s scream hit Craig’s ears. They turned just in time to see Clyde overrun, swinging as he yelled desperately. Flashes of the store, Trisha, her screams and the blood went through Craig’s head, his breath coming in short gasps as the realization hit. “ _CLYDE_!” He went to run back, but Tweek quickly grabbed him around the waist. “ _NO! NO NOT AGAIN! NOT AGAIN!_ ”  
  
“Craig no!” Tweek hissed, yanking Craig back. He could tell Craig is beyond hearing him, mind stuck in the past, in memories. It briefly occurred to him that this was exactly how Craig’s sister died, but he couldn’t focus on that. He pulled Craig against him as he struggled and screamed, before managing to grab Craig’s hand and pulling him as he started to run, following the trail of corpses that Craig had left earlier.  
  
Back at the RV, the others were looking for any sign of the trio. Kenny was pacing again, listening for anything that could clue him in, while Token and Wendy were by the guardrail, looking for traces of them. When they all heard rustling down the hill, they rushed to the guardrail, only to be greeted by Tweek practically dragging Craig up the hill. Kenny and Stan were quick to grab Tweek by the hand and help him the rest of the way up, Token and Wendy grabbing a hysterical Craig. Token looked back down as Craig instantly clung to Tweek, cradling him. “Where’s Clyde?!” He yelled, looking back at the duo.  
  
“He’s…!” Tweek managed to worm himself from Craig’s hold enough to speak directly to Token. “He told us to go! I’m sorry…!”  
  
Token stared blankly, while Wendy and Stan both shared a pained expression. Kenny swore loudly, kicking a nearby car several times. Stan went into the RV to tell Kyle and Bebe. Token stepped away, running his hands over his face and head; Wendy was quick to go after him.  
  
Craig was shaking as he held on to Tweek, the shock settling in as tears trailed down his face. He nuzzled into Tweek’s hair slightly, the blond rubbing his back and whispering soft words to him. He swallowed thickly. “I lost my sister…” he whispered. “I just lost my best friend….I could’ve lost you too…!”  
  
Tweek pulled back enough to look at him. “Craig…”  
  
Craig shook his head furiously. “Don’t ever run off like that again!” he pleaded, voice cracking. “I can’t lose you too, okay?!” He tried to wipe his face, only for more tears to come. “I’ll protect you if I have to, but please don’t just run off like that! It’s too fucking dangerous…!”  
  
Tweek was quiet for a long moment. Sure, he had panicked, and probably shouldn’t have run, but Tweek didn’t think he needed protecting. He had proven that much in raids. Still, with Craig in hysterics like this, he decided it was best not to argue. “…You protect me…” he whispered. “And I’ll protect you, okay…?”  
  
Craig nodded nuzzling into the blond’s hair again. Tweek, not much shorter than Craig, pulled off Craig’s hat and pet his hair in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “…The thought….of losing you…hurts too much to bear. I think…this is awful timing but I think I love you…”  
  
Tweek didn’t say anything at first. “…you’re right, this _is_ awful timing.” That managed to get a weak chuckle out of Craig. “Just the worst timing. But…as stubborn and pigheaded as you can be—”  
  
“Hey…”  
  
“—I think I love you too…but we will talk about that later, okay…?” He leaned back and wiped Craig’s face again. “We have something else we need to deal with…”  
  
Over the course of the next several minutes, no one said a word. Silence hung over the group like a heavy rain cloud. Stan found some good sticks and twine, making a little cross. Wendy had found some paper and a pen, writing Clyde’s name on it to attach to the cross. It occurred to them that no one who ever saw this, if anyone saw it, would understand the significance, but it didn’t matter. This was for them, for Clyde. Clyde’s jacket, which had been left in the bed of the pickup, was passed to Craig by Kenny, but Craig stopped. Token hadn’t said anything, wasn’t really involved in the prep. In the course of the trip, Clyde and Token had become really good friends. Craig stared at the jacket, before taking it over to Token. “Here.”  
  
Token quickly wiped his face, before looking at Craig, then the jacket. “Dude, he was your best friend. You should have it.”  
Craig shook his head. “I have…fuck, I have years of memories. He was my best friend as long as I can remember. I found his pocket knife in it, that’s enough for me.” He held the jacket out again. “I want you to have this, Token. Take it.”  
  
Token hesitated, before he took it and slid it on. It needed a wash, but there was a distinct smell that one could only say was Clyde. “…thanks man.”  
  
Several more minutes of silence. Stan and Kenny managed to get the cross set where it would be seen, and slowly, everyone surrounded it. Nothing was said, and slowly, one by one, everyone retreated to their respective vehicles until only Craig and Tweek stood there, hand in hand. Tweek was the first to break the silence. “I’m a Buddhist, so I have different beliefs than you do…but where do you think he is?”  
  
Craig looked thoughtful, taking a breath before a weak laugh left him. “Probably a heavenly taqueria or something…he had a huge thing for tacos. When…when this all started all he wanted was a damn taco.” He started crying again, but he was smiling. “Every damn day, ‘You think we will ever have another taco?’ I swear, that was all he wanted.” His smile wavered a bit. “I feel bad he never got that damn taco.”  
  
Tweek squeezed Craig’s hand. “Well, then I’m sure he’s gorging himself on tacos then.” The notion made Craig snort. “All the tacos he could ever eat just, tacos everywhere.” At least he was getting Craig to laugh, that was all that mattered to Tweek. Sad Craig wasn’t a pretty sight.  
  
Craig eventually quieted and sniffed. He took a breath. “Thanks for humoring me, Tweek…That means a lot.”  
  
“Yeah, sure.”  
  
“Hey guys?” Wendy had rolled down her window in the pickup. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we should get going, before another wave of those assholes shows up.”  
  
The two nodded, saying their last goodbyes before going to the motorcycle. Tweek secured Craig’s hat on his head, while Craig handed him the helmet, and the group was back on the road to Denver, leaving a piece of their hearts behind.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team arrives in Denver and Kyle faces the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorr this toook a bit to get to, my ADD has been awful lately.

The rest of the drive to Denver was uneventful. With Craig and Tweek leading the caravan, they were able to find ways around the massive deadlocks. It took them longer than they would have liked, but at least the sun was still up by the time they had arrived.  
  
Denver was not what they had anticipated it to be, yet at the same time, it was everything they had expected. Perhaps there had been a false hope there. The big city was run down, and as they drove through it, they could see what remained of the military. Corpses littered the streets, and abandoned vehicles and tanks stood like ancient dinosaurs, frozen in time. Rust had started to coat the metal from the recent rain storms, giving an eerie feel. As they drove through the city, finding no sign of life, they doubled back to Denver’s city limits, settling just outside them.  
  
“People my ass,” Craig grumbled as he helped Tweek off the motorcycle. “The place is decimated.”  
  
“Well, we expected as much,” Token replied quietly. “It’s not like we’ve come across many people other than what we have right now…”  
  
“True,” Wendy sighed. “Your group was the first we had come across in months…Our last group didn’t make it…”  
  
“Sorry to hear that…”  
  
“So where is this guy you were talking about?” Craig interrupted, looking a tad frustrated. “You said he was here? We’re not going to hunt all over Denver for him.”  
  
“Let me see if I can reach him,” Wendy replied, grabbing her radio. “He said his connection gets spotty, so it may take me a minute…” She stepped out of the way with Token to try and reach the individual in question.  
  
Bebe stumbled out of the RV, looking exasperated. Tweek looked to her. “How’s Ike?” He asked quietly.  
  
Bebe sighed heavily. “He’s pretty much dead…” she mumbled. “Like, I hate to say it, but he’s not going to last much longer. The wound is necrotic, everything around it is dead and dying. It’s infecting every cell in his body, the IV and antibiotics aren’t doing anything. He’s having intense muscle spasms and hallucinations; I don’t think he even knows where he is. He can barely able to form coherent sentences and half the time he’s babbling.” She shook her head. “I just…” Another sigh, as she motioned Tweek to follow her inside.  
  
Almost immediately, Tweek was assaulted by what he could only describe as the scent of death. He had to try not to wretch, taking in what he was seeing. Kyle was sitting with Ike’s head in his lap, wiping the teen’s forehead with a towel they had found. Ike’s lips were moving, but Tweek couldn’t hear whatever he was saying. Stan stood off to the side, arms folded over his chest as he stared at the floor; he glanced up in acknowledgement when Tweek entered. Kenny was rubbing Kyle’s shoulder, whispering to him. Tweek licked his lips a bit. “Is…there really nothing else you can do…?”  
  
Bebe shook her head. “If the antibiotics are having no effect, we’re simply wasting resources. At this point, it would be a mercy killing…”  
  
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Kyle hissed, glaring daggers at Bebe. “He still has a chance—“  
  
Kenny sighed heavily. “Ky, hun, He’s entering the final stages of the parasite, there’s nothing we can do—“  
  
“Give him time!” Kyle yelled. “He still has time!”  
  
Stan snapped. “Kyle! It’s been almost a month!” His hands flexed at his sides. “Ike. Isn’t. Getting. Better. You’re being selfish by prolonging this. You need to accept it and let him go!”  
  
“I can’t lose him!” Kyle cried. “He’s all I have!”  
  
“What about me?!” Stan screamed. The RV was silent for a beat, save for Stan’s heavy breathing. “I’m watching him die too, Kyle! I watched him grow up too! And I’m watching this consume you and _fuck_!” He gave a bitter laugh, looking like he was about to cry. “It’s killing me knowing I can’t do a damn thing about it! You’re not alone in dealing with this, so quit acting like you are!”  
  
“You don’t understand!” Kyle screamed back. “You don’t understand what it’s like to lose all your family!”  
  
“Right, because I _totally_ know the status of my family!”  
  
Kenny quickly ushered Tweek and Bebe out, whispering, “This is gonna get ugly, let’s go.” Once he got them out of the RV he shut the door behind them. “I’ve watched them fight, and trust me, it’s not something you wanna witness.” Their voices could faintly be heard yelling at each other in the RV.  
  
Craig came over, grabbing Tweek’s hand and lacing their fingers together. “Ike on his last legs?”  
  
Tweek nodded. “Kyle is taking it horribly,” Bebe murmured. “As would be expected, I suppose. I mean, they’re brothers, right?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
She hummed. “Ike looks more related to Stan, but whatever. Onto a more cheerful topic…” She pointed to Craig and Tweek’s hands. “What’s this?”  
  
The two looked down at their hands, cheeks flaring pink. “Ah, well…we told you how we met, right?” Tweek murmured.  
  
“Don’t think ya did,” Bebe hummed with a smile. “Do tell.”  
  
Tweek looked up at Craig with a faint smile. “Craig saved me. I was looking for food in a 7-11, and I made a loud noise and got cornered. And he just came out of nowhere, bat swinging, like some kind of super hero.”  
  
“Super Craig!” Kenny blurted, making Bebe laugh.  
  
Craig smirked. “I rather like the sound of that. Suuuuper Craig.” The four laughed.  
  
“That’s adorable,” Bebe giggled. “But how did this happen?”  
  
“Ah, well…” Tweek glanced at Craig. “I dunno about Craig…but I kinda started forming a crush on him the more we spent time together…”  
  
“I regret to say I was falling for you before we left South Park,” Craig mumbled, making Bebe laugh.  
  
“And I guess it just got too much. We had a fight, and didn’t even acknowledge each other for a while…” Tweek frowned. “That was awful…”  
  
“We barely made up when we were looking for the vehicles,” Craig added, looking a tad sheepish.  
  
“And I guess…the scare in the woods just…brought us together…” Tweek finished. “And here we are….”  
  
Bebe smiled softly. “Well…they say love blooms in adversity. Maybe it’s what you two needed.”  
  
“Maybe…”  
  
Wendy and Token started to walk over, catching Bebe’s attention. “Any luck?”  
  
“Yeah,” Wendy answered. “They’re to the north, they’re going to come to us. Should be here by sundown.”  
  
“They?” Kenny asked.  
  
“Yeah, he has one other person with him. Said they managed to survive an overrun camp.”  
  
Craig sighed, glancing at the horizon as he leaned on the RV. “All we can do is wait, I guess…”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filler chapter; heere’s Butters! (And Eric)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O O F! I’m so sorry this toook a bit to get out. I got a second job and it’s been eating. Up a lot off my time recently.

As the minutes ticked by and the sun began to set, the camp became restless. They felt exposed, just waiting for these people who they didn’t even know to show up. Craig kept checking his somehow working watch, watching as the sun crept over the horizon line, while Kenny paced between people and checking on them. “You two doing okay?” He asked Craig and Tweek as he walked over.   
  
“Well, as okay as can be expected,” Tweek replied with a small sigh. “It’s not like this is the Holiday Inn or something.”  
  
Kenny chuckled. “Not what I meant, but I’ll take it.”  
  
“Kenny, you don’t have to beat around the bush,” Craig grumbled, pushing himself from leaning on the RV. “We watched Clyde die, so whether we’re okay or not is subjective.”  
  
“I know,” the blond murmured, frowning a bit. “I was just checking on you guys. I know it messes with you.” His eyes flicked to the ground for a moment. “I just wanted to make sure you were holding up alright.”  
  
“We’re good,” Tweek said as Craig opened his mouth. “We’ll be okay.”  
  
Kenny gave a small smile, before moving on. Craig looked at Tweek, whose smile faded slowly as Kenny walked away. “Are we really tho?”  
  
Tweek hummed. “Hard to say. Only time will tell.” They fell quiet after that.  
  
As the final lights of the day started to disappear, Stan stood from the fire he and Token had put together. “Wendy, where is this guy? You said before sundown.”  
  
She frowned. “I’m sure they’ll be here,” she pressed. “Maybe they got held up.”  
  
“We’ve been duped,” Stan argued. “They’re probably more than the 2 and are surrounding us to attack overnight.”  
  
“You don’t know that,” Tweek murmured. “Wendy is probably right. It’s not like we’re in the safest place anymore.”  
  
Stan opened his mouth to argue when the crackle of Wendy’s radio cut through the air. “ _Wendy?”_ The voice was meek, gentle sounding despite the harsh landscape. “ _Are you there?_ ”  
  
Wendy stuck out her tongue as she grabbed her radio. “Yes, I’m here. You’re coming in much clearer than usual. Where are you? We’re getting restless.”  
  
“ _Sorry, we had a bit of a problem,_ ” the voice replied. “ _But uh, can you stick your arm in the air? I think I see you guys, but I wanna be sure before we approach. Just to be sure and all._ ”  
  
Wendy blinked at the radio, before doing as she was told. “Arm is up.”  
  
“ _It is you! Oh goodness, we’ll be right there!_ ”  
  
Wendy smiled, tucking her radio away. “Told you they’d be here.”  
  
Kenny cracked his knuckles. “Kid sounds skittish.”  
  
“Well, he has to have something to have made it this far,” Craig mumbled. “Look at Tweek. He was a wreck when I found him.”  
  
“Definitely takes a certain something to make it out here…” Stan mumbled, glancing around. He paused, spotting what looked like 2 individuals running toward them. His first instinct was to pull out his pistol, but Craig quickly stopped him. Stan swallowed thickly.  
  
“The dead don’t run, remember?” Craig whispered. He then turned. “Wendy!”  
  
Wendy looked over, grinning when she saw the two running. She pulled out her Radio. “If that’s you, call my name!” There was a pause, before a shout of “Wendy” could be heard. “That’s them!” She ran to meet them, Stan and Tweek right behind her.   
  
The smaller of the two practically slammed into Wendy, the two hugging tightly. He was only a little taller than Wendy, with a large scar over his left eye. But he was laughing. He squeezed Wendy a bit, making her laugh. “Oh gosh, Wendy, I thought we’d never see you again after what happened!” He let her go. “Is Bebe still with you?”  
  
“She’s at the camp,” Wendy replied, smiling. “Just look at you, Butters, you’ve made it this far! And here you were so worried.”  
  
“Aw, shucks, Wendy, it wasn’t all me, Eric took a part in it too.”  
  
“I hate to break up this touching reunion,” Stan interrupted as a heavier set young man huffed over to the group. “But first of all, you know each other? And second of all, _Butters_?”  
  
“It’s a nickname,” Butters explained. “Because my last name is Stotch, and it almost sounds like Butterscotch. And I’m a bit of a butterfingers sometimes.”  
  
“We were in a camp together,” Wendy explained. “Remember how I was telling you about the last camp Bebe and I were in?”  
  
“Vaguely,” Tweek admitted.  
  
“It was a mess,” Butters mumbled. “We had holed up in an abandoned barn, there was 13 of us I think? We got overrun by another group, things were burned down, the commotion attracted the biters, and everyone got separated.” He rubbed his knuckles together, biting his lip. “A lot of people died. I thought Eric and I were the only survivors until I heard Wendy on the radio one day.”  
  
“That brings up my next question,” Wendy murmured. “How did you get away? I thought you were still inside, you were making sure everyone else got out of the barn.”  
  
“Eric.” He looked at his companion, whose clothes looked a tad too big for him; it was obvious he had lost a lot of weight. “I couldn’t get this old pickup started, and he shoved me aside and got it goin’. He got us outta there quick.”  
  
“You were gonna get us killed,” Eric grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.   
  
Butters giggled. “I knew you had a soft spot in there somewhere.” Eric groaned, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, we made it.”  
  
Wendy nodded. “Come with us then, we’ve been waiting for you. This is Stan, and Tweek.”  
  
“Tweek?” Butters and Eric asked in unison, Eric looking like he was trying not to laugh.  
  
“My parents were meth addicts,” Tweek explained with a shrug, making Eric burst into a fit of laughter.  
  
The small group made their way back, Wendy hanging back with the two new comers as Tweek and Stan went ahead. “What do you think, Stan?”  
  
Stan hummed. “I’m skeptical still…Adding new people at such a volatile time feels like a bad idea, but…” He shrugged. “It seems fitting to lose 2 and gain 2 back.”  
  
Tweek looked sad. “You’re really serious about Ike, aren’t you?”   
  
“We have to be,” Stan sighed. “He could turn any day now. And I really don’t want to risk any more lives because of it…” Stan went quiet as they rejoined the others, Kyle coming out of the RV.  
  
Kenny turned, grinning when he spotted Stan and Tweek. “So, where’s the…” He stopped, eyes looking passed the two to the trio behind them. A faint blush ghosted his cheeks as he stared, before he shook his head roughly. “Who’s the blondie?” He whispered.   
  
Stan noticed the way Kenny was watching Butters, and smirked a little. “Wendy calls him Butters. I’m sure you could get his real name if you asked tho.”  
  
“Uh-huh,” Kenny mumbled, watching as Wendy went around introducing the two to people.  
  
Stan and Kyle glanced at each other, both holding back a laugh at how twiterpated Kenny was over the newcomer. They both nudged him. “Go get ‘im tiger,” Kyle teased.  
  
Kenny’s head whipped around quickly. “But—!”  
  
“We’ll be fine,” Stan pressed. He took Kyle’s hand. “We have each other. Go for it.”  
  
There was a squeal as Bebe came out of the RV, eyes locked on Butters. “Butterscotch!” She half screamed, running over and hugging him. He returned the gesture, laughing. “Oh my god, my little Butterscotch! I totally didn’t believe it when Wendy said it was you, I thought she was projecting oh my god!”  
  
Butters laughed. “Aw, it’s just little ol me, Bebe!” He laughed more as she pulled away, squishing his face before kissing his cheeks, leaving red lipstick stains.  
  
Bebe then turned to Butters’ companion. “And how the hell did you survive, fatass?”  
  
“Ay!” He yelled, scowling. “I’m not fat! I’m big boned, you stupid whore!”  
  
She raised a brow. “Right, cause that’s why your clothes are now two sizes too small.”  
  
While the two bickered, Butters moved on to Kenny, Stan and Kyle. “Hello!”  
  
Stan chuckled as Kenny waved, too lovestruck to speak. “This is Kenny,” he introduced, hands on Kenny’s shoulders to keep him grounded.   
  
“Hi, yes, Kenny, that’s me,” he quickly stammered, making Butters laugh gently. Okay, laughing was a good sign. “Hi.”  
  
Butters covered his mouth a bit as he laughed, making Kenny’s heart flutter even more. “It’s nice to meet you, Kenny,” he finally managed to say between Kenny’s hopeless blathering. He was usually so much smoother than this. “Everyone calls me Butters—“  
  
“What’s your _name_ tho?” Kenny asked, grinning.   
  
Butters blinked. No one really asked, just going with the name he gave them. “Oh, uh…Leopold…”  
  
“Can I call you Leo?”  
  
Butters cheeks flushed a little, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah, I don’t see why not, Ken.” The shortening of his name made Kenny almost squeal, which made Butters laugh.  
  
Slowly but surely the group got settled around the fire, tents set up as they swapped stories. The larger group told Butters and Eric about their recent loss, their current situation, and how they had no idea where to go from there. They shared details about before the fall of man, and for a moment, things almost seemed normal.  
  
“What about you two?” Kyle finally asked as they ate some rations. “Where were you when this all went down?”  
  
“Well, I was actually just coming back from a trip to Hawaii,” Butters admitted. “I had gone as a reward to myself for finishing my midterms. I came back and…” The smile on his face faded a bit. “I went home, but my parents were gone. No note, no car, nothing. I tried calling but they wouldn’t answer. And the town…” he shuddered. “It was so quiet…There were a few people here and there, but we all kept to ourselves.”  
  
Eric had reclined against the side of the RV, arms tucked behind his head. He was sitting outside the circle a tad “My mom and I were trying to outrun it, but then we ran out of gas. She went to find some.” His voice trailed off as he looked away from the prying eyes. He acted like he didn’t care, but there was a flash of distress and pain on his face for the briefest moment. There was a moment of silence; everyone understood without words being spoken.  
  
“So what’s with the frying pan?” Stan asked, pointing to the pan on Butters’ backpack.  
  
“Oh, this?” Butters unhooked it. “It’s a cast iron skillet! Makes for a pretty good weapon, actually.” He passed it over, laughing when Stan almost dropped it, having not expected the weight. “That weight swinging fast makes for a pretty good splat.”  
  
“And how did you end up with those two?” Token asked, pointing to the girls.  
  
“Well, A big military truck came through town,” Butters began. “They were taking refugees. I had nothing left to lose, so I climbed on. Bebe and Wendy were on the truck already, and later we picked up Eric.”  
  
“All of the people on that truck stuck together for a long time,” Bebe mused. “We eventually had to split up because the group was getting too big, but for the most part, we stayed together.” She squeezed Wendy’s hand.  
  
“Well,” Craig sighed. “We don’t have much along the line of rations and supplies, so you’ll have to pull your own weight…”  
  
“But you’re welcome to stay,” Tweek finished.  
  
Butters grinned, rocking side to side just slightly, bumping Kenny’s shoulder gently and turning the fellow blond into mush. “It’ll be nice being in a group again! It got lonely for a while with just me and Eric.”  
  
“Well we’re glad to have you,” Kenny hummed, lovestruck smile on his face. He was studying Butters’ face in the dim firelight, eyes locking on the scar over the sweet young man’s left eye. “Hey Leo…?”  
  
Butters turned to look at him. “Hmm? What is it, Ken?”  
  
“Your eye…” Butters visibly stiffened. “What happened there…?”  
  
Butters’ hand when to his left eye, fingertips grazing over the scarring skin. “O-Oh, this…? It was an accident.” He gave a nervous little giggle, looking at his lap. “Just…was doin’ a raid an someone else who was livin’ found me and tried to take my stuff. It turned into a fight and he stabbed me in the eye with his knife.” He sniffed. “He took everything. I felt like I had messed up so bad, I thought everyone was going to be real sore at me…”  
  
“And it was just the opposite,” Wendy murmured, reaching over to rub Butters’ back. “He came back with blood just pouring down his face, it was a miracle he hadn’t passed out. We had to get creative to cauterize the wound, which made him pass out.”  
  
“The eye patch made him look so cute tho,” Bebe giggled. “It was almost too big for his little face.”  
  
Kenny looked closer. “Can you see out of it?”  
  
“Just shadows, mostly,” he replied, watching Kenny. “I gotta rely on my good eye quite a bit…my left side is exposed tho.”  
  
Kenny smiled softly. “I’ll be your left eye then.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions (But I will not answer if it’s a spoiler)
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


End file.
